<P> The earliest appearance of the term is found in King Alfred 's writing in the ninth century AD . Originally this term simply referred to the `` aperture at the centre of the human eye '' viz . the pupil . This appears to be the meaning Shakespeare used in his 1590s play A Midsummer Night 's Dream . In the play , the fairy character Robin Goodfellow has acquired a flower that was once hit by Cupid 's arrow , imbuing it with magical love - arousing properties , and drops juice of this flower into a young sleeping man 's eyes , saying `` Flower of this purple dye , / Hit with Cupid 's archery , / Sink in apple of his eye '' . </P>
where does the expression apple of my eye come from
in King Alfred 's writing in the ninth century AD