Word Study
berry
CIDE DICTIONARY
berry, n. [OE. berie, AS. berie, berige; akin to D. bes, G. beere, OS. and OHG. beri, Icel. ber, Sw. bär, Goth. basi, and perh. Skr. bhas to eat.].
- Any small fleshy fruit, as the strawberry, mulberry, huckleberry, etc. [1913 Webster]
- A small fruit that is pulpy or succulent throughout, having seeds loosely imbedded in the pulp, as the currant, grape, blueberry. [1913 Webster]
- The coffee bean. [1913 Webster]
- One of the ova or eggs of a fish. Travis. [1913 Webster]
berry, v. i.
To bear or produce berries. [1913 Webster]
berry, n. [AS. beorh. See Barrow a hill.].
A mound; a hillock. W. Browne. [1913 Webster]
OXFORD DICTIONARY
berry, n. & v.
--n. (pl. -ies)
1 any small roundish juicy fruit without a stone.
2 Bot. a fruit with its seeds enclosed in a pulp (e.g. a banana, tomato, etc.).
3 any of various kernels or seeds (e.g. coffee bean etc.).
4 a fish egg or roe of a lobster etc.
--v.intr. (-ies, -ied)
1 (usu. as berrying n.) go gathering berries.
2 form a berry; bear berries.
--n. (pl. -ies)
1 any small roundish juicy fruit without a stone.
2 Bot. a fruit with its seeds enclosed in a pulp (e.g. a banana, tomato, etc.).
3 any of various kernels or seeds (e.g. coffee bean etc.).
4 a fish egg or roe of a lobster etc.
--v.intr. (-ies, -ied)
1 (usu. as berrying n.) go gathering berries.
2 form a berry; bear berries.
Derivative
berried adj. (also in comb.).
Etymology
OE berie f. Gmc
THESAURUS
berry
Catawba, Persian melon, Valencia orange, acorn, akee, alligator pear, ananas, apple, apricot, avocado, banana, bearberry, bilberry, bird seed, blackberry, cacao, candleberry, canistel, cantaloupe, capulin, casaba, checkerberry, cherimoya, cherry, citrange, citron, citrus, citrus fruit, civet fruit, crab apple, cranberry, currant, custard apple, damson, date, dewberry, elderberry, feijoa, fig, flaxseed, fruit, gooseberry, grain, grape, grapefruit, guanabana, guava, hayseed, honeydew, huckleberry, icaco, ilama, imbu, jaboticaba, jackfruit, jujube, kernel, kumquat, lemon, lime, lingonberry, linseed, litchi, loganberry, loquat, mammee apple, mandarin orange, mango, mangosteen, manzanilla, marang, mayapple, medlar, melon, mulberry, muscadine, muscat, muscatel, muskmelon, navel orange, nectarine, nut, nutmeg melon, olive, orange, papaw, papaya, passion fruit, peach, pear, persimmon, pineapple, pip, pippin, pit, plantain, plum, plumcot, pomegranate, prune, quince, raisin, rambutan, raspberry, red currant, seed, stone, strawberry, sugar apple, sugarplum, sweetsop, tangelo, tangerine, ugli fruitFor further exploring for "berry" in Webster Dictionary Online