אתרוג

Borrowed from Old Persian [script needed] (turung), from Sanskrit मातुलुङ्ग (mātuluṅga), ultimately from Dravidian. Compare Persian ترنج (toronj), Turkish turunç, Arabic تُرُنْج (turunj), أُتْرُجّ (ʔutrujj), Aramaic תְּרוֹגָא (tərōḡā), אֶתְרוֹגָא (ʾeṯrōḡā), Tamil மாதுளம் (mātuḷam), மாதுளங்காய் (mātuḷaṅkāy, “pomegranate, citron lemon”).

Political meaning comes from the custom of using etrogs for the holiday of Sukkot, during which they are often kept safe in a rigid container, but after which they are often discarded.

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אֶתְרוֹג • (etróg) m (plural indefinite אֶתְרוֹגִים, singular construct אֶתְרוֹג־, plural construct אֶתְרוֹגֵי־)

1. citron (the fruit of a citron tree)
   • a. 217 C.E., Mishnah. Sukkah, section 4.7:

     מִיַּד הַתִּינוֹקוֹת שׁוֹמְטִין אֶת לוּלְבֵיהֶן וְאוֹכְלִין אֶתְרוֹגֵיהֶן.

     Mi-yád ha-tinoqót shomṭín et lulavéihen v-okhlín etrogéihen.

     Immediately, the children would release their palm branches and eat their citrons.

   • a. 500 C.E., Babylonian Talmud. Kiddushin, 70a:

     אָמַר שְׁמוּאֵל כׇּל הָאוֹמֵר אֶתְרוּנְגָּא תִּילְתָּא בְּרָמוּת רוּחָא אוֹ אֶתְרוֹג כִּדְקַרְיוּהּ רַבָּנַן אוֹ אֶתְרוֹגָא דְּאָמְרִי אִינָשֵׁי

     Amár Shmuél: kol ha-omér etrúnga tiltá b-ramút rúḥa. O etróg ki-d-qaryúh rabbanán, o etróga d-amrí inashéi.

     Said Shmuel: All who call a citron an etrunga have a third of a measure of haughtiness. Either call it an etrog, as the rabbis call it, or an etroga, as the people do.

2. (Politics) In Israeli politics, a politician whom journalists refrain from criticizing until after a certain date or issue has passed.

• “אתרוג” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language
• אתרוגנות, ("Etroganut"), HaAyin HaShevi'it, Encyclopedic Lexicon of Media and Journalism] (in Hebrew)

• אתרוג on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he

From Hebrew אֶתְרוֹג (etróg).

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛsʁəɡ/

אתרוג • (esreg) m, plural אתרוגים (esroygim)

1. citron (fruit)