blackberry
UK /ˈblækbəɹi/ · US /ˈblækbɛɹi/ noun, verb
Forms blackberries blackberrying blackberried BlackBerrys
- noun A fruit-bearing shrub of the aggregate species Rubus fruticosus and some hybrids.
- noun The soft fruit borne by this shrub, formed of a black (when ripe) cluster of drupelets.
- noun (loosely, informal) Any Rubus berry that is black or blackish; the plant that produces it.
- noun (UK, dialectal) The blackcurrant.
- verb To gather or forage for blackberries.
- noun A wireless handheld device, a cross between a cellphone and a mobile email appliance and Internet-capable PDA, marketed by BlackBerry Limited.
- verb To send a text message or e-mail with a BlackBerry device.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English blakberie, blakeberie (“brambleberry”), from Old English blacu berġe, blæcberġe (attested in plural blaca berġan), equivalent to black + berry.
Brand name, from the resemblance of the keyboard's buttons to the skin of a fruit.
Webster’s 1913
- noun The fruit of several species of bramble (Rubus); also, the plant itself. Rubus fruticosus is the blackberry of England; R. villosus and R. Canadensis are the high blackberry and low blackberry of the United States. There are also other kinds.
Etymology [OE. blakberye, AS. blæcerie; blæc black + berie berry.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “blackberry”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details