What is "apple of discord"

Apple \Ap"ple\ ([a^]p"p'l), n. [OE. appel, eppel, AS. [ae]ppel, [ae]pl; akin to Fries. & D. appel, OHG, aphul, aphol, G. apfel, Icel. epli, Sw. ["a]ple, Dan. [ae]ble, Gael. ubhall, W. afal, Arm. aval, Lith. ob[*u]lys, Russ. iabloko; of unknown origin.]

1. The fleshy pome or fruit of a rosaceous tree ( Pyrus malus) cultivated in numberless varieties in the temperate zones.

   Note: The European crab apple is supposed to be the original kind, from which all others have sprung.

2. (bot.) Any tree genus Pyrus which has the stalk sunken into the base of the fruit; an apple tree.

3. Any fruit or other vegetable production resembling, or supposed to resemble, the apple; as, apple of love, or love apple (a tomato), balsam apple, egg apple, oak apple.

4. Anything round like an apple; as, an apple of gold. Note: Apple is used either adjectively or in combination; as, apple paper or apple-paper, apple-shaped, apple blossom, apple dumpling, apple pudding. Apple blight, an aphid which injures apple trees. See Blight, n. Apple borer (Zo["o]l.), a coleopterous insect ( Saperda candida or Saperda bivittata), the larva of which bores into the trunk of the apple tree and pear tree. Apple brandy, brandy made from apples. Apple butter, a sauce made of apples stewed down in cider. --Bartlett. Apple corer, an instrument for removing the cores from apples. Apple fly (Zo["o]l.), any dipterous insect, the larva of which burrows in apples. Apple flies belong to the genera Drosophila and Trypeta. Apple midge (Zo["o]l.) a small dipterous insect ( Sciara mali), the larva of which bores in apples. Apple of the eye, the pupil. Apple of discord, a subject of contention and envy, so called from the mythological golden apple, inscribed ``For the fairest,'' which was thrown into an assembly of the gods by Eris, the goddess of discord. It was contended for by Juno, Minerva, and Venus, and was adjudged to the latter. Apple of love, or Love apple, the tomato ( Lycopersicum esculentum). Apple of Peru, a large coarse herb ( Nicandra physaloides) bearing pale blue flowers, and a bladderlike fruit inclosing a dry berry. Apples of Sodom, a fruit described by ancient writers as externally of fair appearance but dissolving into smoke and ashes when plucked; Dead Sea apples. The name is often given to the fruit of Solanum Sodom[ae]um, a prickly shrub with fruit not unlike a small yellow tomato. Apple sauce, stewed apples. [U. S.] Apple snail or Apple shell (Zo["o]l.), a fresh-water, operculated, spiral shell of the genus Ampullaria. Apple tart, a tart containing apples. Apple tree, a tree which naturally bears apples. See Apple, 2. Apple wine, cider. Apple worm (Zo["o]l.), the larva of a small moth ( Carpocapsa pomonella) which burrows in the interior of apples. See Codling moth. Dead Sea Apple.

   1. pl. Apples of Sodom. Also Fig. ``To seek the Dead Sea apples of politics.''
      --S. B. Griffin.

   2. A kind of gallnut coming from Arabia. See Gallnut.

Discord \Dis"cord`\, n. [OE. discord, descord, OF. discorde, descorde, F. discorde, from L. discordia, fr. discors, -cordis, discordant, disagreeable; dis- + cor, cordis, heart; cf. F. discord, n., and OF. descorder, discorder, F. discorder, to discord, L. discordare, from discors. See Heart, and cf. Discord, v. i.]

1. Want of concord or agreement; absence of unity or harmony in sentiment or action; variance leading to contention and strife; disagreement; -- applied to persons or to things, and to thoughts, feelings, or purposes.

   A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.
   --Prov. vi. 19.

   Peace to arise out of universal discord fomented in all parts of the empire.
   --Burke.

2. (Mus.) Union of musical sounds which strikes the ear harshly or disagreeably, owing to the incommensurability of the vibrations which they produce; want of musical concord or harmony; a chord demanding resolution into a concord.

   For a discord itself is but a harshness of divers sounds m???ing.
   --Bacon.

   Apple of discord. See under Apple.

   Syn: Variance; difference; opposition; contrariety; clashing; dissension; contention; strife; disagreement; dissonance.

n. An object or topic which sows dissension and anger; something which causes strife, argument or rivalry.

n. (classical mythology) a golden apple thrown into a banquet of the gods by Eris (goddess of discord--who had not been invited); the apple had `for the fairest' written on it and Hera and Athena and Aphrodite all claimed it; when Paris (prince of Troy) awarded it to Aphrodite it began a chain of events that led to the Trojan War

An apple of discord is a reference to the Golden Apple of Discord which, according to Greek mythology, the goddess Eris ( Gr. Ἔρις, "Strife") tossed in the midst of the feast of the gods at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis as a prize of beauty, thus sparking a vanity-fueled dispute among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite that eventually led to the Trojan War (for the complete story, see The Judgement of Paris). Thus, "apple of discord" is used to signify the core, kernel, or crux of an argument, or a small matter that could lead to a bigger dispute.