The proverb also appears in Russian, according to 'Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings' by Gregory Y. Thompson.' From 'Wise Words and Wives' Tales: The Origins, Meanings and Time-Honored Wisdom of Proverbs and Folk Sayings Olde and New' by Stuart Flexner and Doris Flexner (Avon Books, New York, 1993). A century later, however, the saying appeared in its current form and connotation in 'Body, Boots, and Britches' by H. The American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson apparently was the first to use it in English when in an 1839 letter, he wrote that 'the apple never falls far from the stem.' But here Emerson used it in another sense, to describe that tug that often brings us back to our childhood home. The notion is similar to the older 'Like father, like son,' and 'Like mother, like daughter,' and seems to have appeared first in German. ' Probably applied most often now to someone with obvious failings, the saying asserts the problem was simply passed along from parent to child. (Oxford University Press, Oxford and New York, Third Edition, 1998). 'der Apfel fellt nicht gerne weit vom Baume,' the apple does not usually fall far from the tree.' From 'The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Proverbs' by John Simpson and Jennifer Speake 1839 implies return to one's original home. 'Apparently of Eastern origin, it is frequently used to assert the continuity of family characteristics.

It was originally used to refer to family characteristics its current connotation is from the early 20th century:

A child grows up to be similar to its parents, both in behavior and in physical characteristics.

The apple never falls far from the tree is a saying often used to underline a negative aspect and means:

Apple never fall