Not everybody means the same thing when they tag some piece of software as âfreewareâ. You will often see something labeled freeware when it really isnât. In this article, I will describe various kinds of software that are often called freeware and try to clear up some of the confusion.
The phrase is thought to have originated in World War I, with the Toffee Apple trench mortar used by British troops. These mortars were later rendered obsolete by the Stokes mortar, which used a more modern bullet-shaped shell. How do you like them apples, UsingEnglish.com. Accessed 14 January 2007.
Perhaps stemming from the old French word for the fruit, pomme-grenade, the pomegranate was known in early English as apple of Grenadaâa term which today survives only in heraldic blazons. This is a folk etymology, confusing Latin granatus with the name of the Spanish city of Granada, which derives from Arabic.