Etymology Dictionary

JENNETING,  an early apple.  (F.,—L.,—Gk.,—Heb.)   'In July come... plummes in fruit, ginnitings, quadlins;' Bacon, Essay 46, Of Gardens.   'Contrariwise, pomgranat-trees, fig-trees, and apple-trees, liue a very short time; and of these, the hastie kind or ienitings, continue nothing so large as those that bear and ripen later;' Holland, tr. of Pliny, b. xvi. c. 44.   From the F. Jeanneton, double dimin. of Jean, with reference to St. John's day (June 24).—Lat. Johannem, acc. of Johannes, John.—Gk. Ἰωάννης; see Zany.

ADDENDA

In Hogg's Fruit Manual, 4th ed. p. 77, it is proposed to connect this with F. Jean, John.   He cites from J. B. Porta the following:  'Est genus alterum [pomorum] quod quia circa festum Divi Joannis maturiscit (sic), vulgus Melo de San Giovanni dicitur.'   And again, from Tragus, Hortorum, p. 522, 'Quæ apud nos prima maturantur, Sanct Johans Oppfell (sic), Latine, Præcocia mala dicuntur.'   Cotgrave has:  'Pomme de S. Jean, or Hastivel, a soon-ripe apple called the St. John's apple.'   This leaves little doubt as to the ultimate origin being from F. Jean.   There is also a pear called Amiré Joannet, or Admiré Joannet, also Joannet, Jeanette, Petit St. Jean, in German Johannisbirn, which 'ripens in July, so called from being ready for use in some parts of France about St. John's day, the 24th of June;' Hogg's Fruit Manual, p. 361.   Similarly the jenneting must have received its name from being in some places ripe on St. John's day, though in England it is not ripe till July.   As to the form of the word, it answers best to F. Jeanneton; for, although this is a feminine form, we have just seen that the early pear is called both Joannet and Jeanette.   We find a mention of pereionettes, i.e. Jeannot pears, as early as in Piers Plowman, C. xiii. 221.   It is much more likely that jenneting = Jeanneton, than that the suffix -ing was afterwards added, for no intelligible reason.