The evolution of the modern grenade is quite fascinating. While the explosive device we are familiar with today was not invented until 1914, the term itself has a long history dating back to as early as 1590. Surprisingly, the word originally referred to “pomegranate”, with its definition later expanding due to a perceived physical resemblance to the fruit. In Middle French, it was written as granate, and in Old French, it appeared as pomme granate, literally translating to “apple having grains” because of its appearance. The Latin roots of the term, pomum granatum, combine pome meaning “apple” and granum meaning “grain”. The term pome itself is derived from the Roman goddess of fruits, Pomona, while granum traces back to the Proto-Indo-European word grhnos, also signifying “grain”. Both grenade and pomegranate have seen a rise in usage since the twentieth century.
