Why are pineapples called pineapples when they don't have anything to do with apples?

Answer 1

What we call "pinecones" were originally called "pineapples".

When Europeans first encountered the fruit, the hard petals around it reminded them of a pine cone (pineapple), and the name stuck.

The Tupi Indians of Brazil call pineapples "ananas" (excellent fruit), but that proved too close to the word "bananas" to catch on outside of the region.

Answer 2

The word pineapple in English was first recorded in 1398, when it was originally used to describe the reproductive organs of conifer trees (now termed pine cones). The term pine conefor the reproductive organ of conifer trees was first recorded in 1694. When European explorers discovered this tropical fruit, they called them pineapples (term first recorded in that sense in 1664 because of their resemblance to what is now known as the pine cone).

Source: Wikipedia from Google search.