Back to the OP... (oh noes!)
The French dictionary that goes "all the way" back to Italian does not explain the initial 'n' in Sanskrit, Hindi, Arabic, etc. words for orange. Since oranges came to Europe from India and points further east by way of Persia, all those older Eastern languages seem a rather glaring indicator that there was originally an 'n' or that there's something else mysterious to explain away before you can assume that Italian is the authority.

Back to Slightly Off Topic... (yeah!)
Remember that New York, New York used to be New Amsterdam, New Netherlands and the rulers of the Netherlands hold the title Prince of Orange. Related topic: "Why are carrots orange?" (which I think we've done before).

Last edited by Myridon; 09/12/07 04:34 PM.