Apple of my eye

Usually said of a person, especially a son or daughter, who is cherished above all others. The apple of the eye is the pupil, the most important and therefore most cherished part of the eye. Apples were highly prized fruits in ancient times and the expression is indeed exceedingly old. It is mentioned at least five times in the Old Testament and its earliest appearance in English is during the 9th century when Alfred the Great translated St Gregory’s Book of Pastoral Rule, written c.590, where the expression appears in Latin. Shakespeare used the expression twice: in Midsummer Night’s Dream Act III, Scene II, when Oberon says, “Flower of this purple dye, hit with Cupid’s archery, sink in apple of his eye.” Then again in Love’s Labour Lost Act V, Scene II, spoken by Biron to Boyet, “And do you not know my lady’s foot by the squier, and laugh upon the apple of her eye?”