Talk:pineapple

Related to the RFC discussion of this entry (which will eventually be archived here), see WT:RFD#🌰 (to eventually be archived at Talk:🌰). - -sche (discuss) 20:39, 26 June 2018 (UTC)

RFC discussion: May 2017–February 2021

The following discussion has been moved from Wiktionary:Requests for cleanup (permalink).

This discussion is no longer live and is left here as an archive. Please do not modify this conversation, but feel free to discuss its conclusions.

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pineapple

Under etymology 3. Manifestly not a symbol in our usage. No definition. Should we add something to the noun section or just revert to a previous version? SemperBlotto (talk) 14:54, 1 May 2017 (UTC)

It is an image symbol, should it go under U+1F34D 🍍 instead then? It's a traditional symbol in imagery and as a word meaning hospitality. The etymology is different from the fruit, since it comes from the existence of the fruit and is usage; and is unrelated to pine+apple that the name of the fruit comes from. The wording form is used in English in the U.S. South (so could be moved to "adjective" then?) The image/shape form is as well. -- 70.51.200.162 15:06, 1 May 2017 (UTC)

Image symbology is part of communication, and we have glyphs here like the unicode emoji symbols, so would seem to be appropriate that the hospitality definition for whence a pineapple appears, should appear on Wiktionary. -- 70.51.200.162 15:08, 1 May 2017 (UTC)

Just not dictionary content. A man is a symbol for men's toilets, but that doesn't give it an extra sense at man. Equinox ◑ 16:30, 1 May 2017 (UTC)

Ah, but that would be used in a string of emoji, or other symbolic communication. Wouldn't the men's room merit mentioning at U+1F6B9 🚹 ? (in which our definition actually says it's a men's room symbol); The term "Mens" or "Men's" is written on doors of men's rooms as well, so would seem to be written verbal communication, permitting additions there. (our definition at men's actually does say it means the men's room) -- 70.51.200.162 05:21, 2 May 2017 (UTC)

Yes, this seems non-lexical. It's interesting information, but it's better suited to w:Pineapple#Symbolism_and_cultural_history. Of course, if it were used lexically, like "that's not very pineapple [hospitable]", or "Southern pineapple [hospitality] pervaded his every action", that could merit a sense-line in the entry. - -sche (discuss) 18:07, 1 May 2017 (UTC)

It's a symbol used on signage, so would seem to provide symbolic communication, thus could be lexical, in a symbolic/pictographic lexicon (which is being added to Unicode as we speak, with various emoji additions, etc); It is used in corporate naming of companies, locations and items (The word "pineapple" being attached to hospitality related things) -- 70.51.200.162 05:21, 2 May 2017 (UTC)

It is possible to find citations of pineapple used to refer to the woodcarving sometimes used to surmount a bedpost (eg, He fell when the pineapple he grabbed came loose from the bedpost). It MIGHT be possible to become convinced that this was a separate meaning of pineapple, somewhat analogous to the definition of landscape ("A picture representing a scene by land or sea, actual or fancied, the chief subject being the general aspect of nature, as fields, hills, forests, water. etc.").

I don't see any evidence that the word was actually used in the "Old South" (or anywhere else before the 20th century) in reference to symbolic pineapples. Some suspect that the pineapple-as-symbol-of-hospitality story is a "tradition" invented by Dole Food Company in the 20th century. Older decorative uses of the pineapple-like motif as decoration maybe attributable to the old meaning of pineapple ("pinecone") (See “pineapple”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC..), associated with Bacchus. DCDuring (talk) 15:42, 2 May 2017 (UTC)

Closed as stale. — surjection ⟨??⟩ 22:49, 7 February 2021 (UTC)