barberry
/ˈbɑɹbɛɹi/ noun
Forms barberries
- noun Any of the thorny shrubs of genus Berberis, which bear yellow flowers and red or blue-black berries.
- noun The edible fruit of these shrubs.
Synonyms
Etymology
From Middle English berberie, from Medieval Latin berberis (on which see Arabic بَرْبَارِيس (barbārīs)), influenced by berie (“berry”). Doublet of berberis and related to Berber.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A shrub of the genus Berberis, common along roadsides and in neglected fields. B. vulgaris is the species best known; its oblong red berries are made into a preserve or sauce, and have been deemed efficacious in fluxes and fevers. The bark dyes a fine yellow, esp. the bark of the root. [Also spelt berberry.]
Etymology [OE. barbarin, barbere, OF. berbere.]
Sources: Wiktionary · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “barberry”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details