‘An Apple a Day Keeps the Doctor Away’ – Origin, Meaning, Expansion, and Significance of the Proverb

Last updated Sep 6, 2018

Origin

This proverb, ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’, is said to have originated in Wales in the 1860s.

When first used, however, this proverb had a slightly different form. It began, ‘eat an apple when going to bed’ and then followed this up with ‘you will keep the doctor from earning his bread’.

‘Bread’, in the above phrase, roughly means ‘salary’ – i.e. ‘you will stop the doctor from earning his salary’ (due to the fact that there are fewer ill people demanding his attentions). It was not until the 1920s that the proverb in its current form appeared in print.

Meaning and Expansion

This proverb is all about looking after our health. It can be applied both in a specific sense and in a more general sense.

In its specific sense, this proverb is telling us literally to eat an apple every single day (if we can) to get the benefit of the fiber, vitamins and other nutritional advantages this fruit offers.

In its more general sense, this proverb signifies that we should look after our health.

Either way, the proverb states that eating an apple each day, and looking after our health, will ‘keep the doctor away’. This means that we will not need any medical appointments because we will be healthy. In earlier times, when the proverb was first used, the doctor often used to visit their patients at home, hence the proverb says ‘keep the doctor away’ rather than ‘keep us away from the doctor’.

So, in summary, this proverb can be taken to mean:

Eating apples is good for our health
Looking after our health is a good idea
Taking responsibility for our own health will prevent us from having to see the doctor
Getting into a daily routine can be good for health
Good health can start with simple acts – like eating an apple

This proverb has also been turned into a popular joke. The joke goes: ‘An apple a day keeps the doctor away, if you aim right’. Here, the joke suggests that the best way to keep the doctor away is not to eat an apple – but to throw it at the doctor. The fact that this joke has become so popular attests to the popularity of the original proverb. People would not understand the joke if they did not first understand the proverb that it is based on.

Significance

1. Staying healthy: even if we do not literally eat one apple every single day, this proverb does remind us of the importance of good health.

2. Daily routine: the proverb suggests that getting into a good daily routine can help us to stay healthy. And that health can be both mental and physical.

3. Motivation: this is a proverb that we can use to motivate ourselves to look after ourselves.

4. The power of simple acts: eating an apple daily is a very simple thing to do. however as this proverb shows, even a simple act can be a powerful one.

5. Valuing ourselves: this proverb encourages us to value ourselves and our health and to keep ourselves in good condition.

6. Taking responsibility for ourselves: this is a proverb that motivates us to take positive action to improve our lives rather than simply expecting others to take care of is.

7. Forward thinking: looking after ourselves now, this proverb demonstrates, is better than ending up with bigger problems that will need specialist help to put right. As such, this proverb also attests to the value of taking positive action now rather than waiting for things to get worse.

Conclusion.

A simple, rhyming proverb, this saying actually has a lot to tell us. Firstly, it motivates us to take positive action to look after our health. It emphasizes the importance of well being and of valuing ourselves by taking good care of ourselves every day.

Relatedly, this proverb also shows us the value of getting in to a good daily routine. And, it encourages us to get into good habits early on and as soon as possible rather than not taking positive action until it is too late. This is surely one of the more common proverbs out there. Even if we do not actually like the taste of apples, we can still absorb the general principles about health, motivation, and self care that are right at the heart of this popular saying.