A type of small apple, often tart and crispy, or more broadly any well-liked person or thing.
From Old French 'pepin' meaning seed or seed-bearing fruit, derived from Latin 'piperis' (pepper). The fruit term became associated with small, desirable apples in medieval England.
Newton's apple legend aside, pippins were THE apple of choice in Medieval England—so desirable that they were worth stealing, which is why 'pippin' became slang for anything excellent or impressive.
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