Jaffa

Jaffa was originally the name of the ancient city on the site of the modern city of Tel-Aviv in Israel. Jaffa is also a girl's name in Hebrew and means beautiful. Since the mid-19th century, the name 'Jaffa' was given to a species of orange that was first mutated, cultivated and grown in the orange groves in the area of the old town of Jaffa, but can now be found throughout the Middle East. Jaffa oranges are renowned for their sweetness and lack of seeds. In 1931, 'Jaffa' became a registered trademark in Australia and New Zealand for a small round sweet or confection that has an orange-flavoured outer and a chocolate centre. Apart from a brand name of a species of orange and confection, Jaffa also has a number of slang or colloquial meanings. A man who has had a vasectomy or who cannot sire children is known as a 'Jaffa' because a Jaffa orange typically has few or no seeds. In Ireland, 'Jaffa' is slang for a protestant or an Orangeman. And finally, from the second half of the 20th century, a 'Jaffa' is a colloquialism for a beautiful, unplayable delivery from a bowler in cricket.