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• dogberry
  dogberry

  noun

  the berry or fruit of any of various plants, as the European dogwood, Cornus sanguinea, the chokeberry, Aronia arbutifolia, or the mountain ash, Sorbus americana.
• Dogberry
  Dogberry

  noun

  a foolish constable in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.

dogberry

¹ American  

[dawg-ber-ee, -buh-ree, dog-] / ˈdɔgˌbɛr i, -bə ri, ˈdɒg- /

noun

dogberries plural

1. the berry or fruit of any of various plants, as the European dogwood, Cornus sanguinea, the chokeberry, Aronia arbutifolia, or the mountain ash, Sorbus americana.

2. the plant itself.

3. any of several plants, especially the dog rose, bearberry, and guelder rose.

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Dogberry ² American  

[dawg-ber-ee, -buh-ree, dog-] / ˈdɔgˌbɛr i, -bə ri, ˈdɒg- /

noun

Dogberrys plural

1. a foolish constable in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.

2. any foolish, blundering, or stupid official.

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dogberry ¹ British  

/ -brɪ, ˈdɒɡˌbɛrɪ, -bərɪ /

noun

1. any of certain plants that have berry-like fruits, such as the European dogwood or the bearberry

2. the fruit of any of these plants

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dogberry ² British  

/ -brɪ, -bərɪ, ˈdɒɡˌbɛrɪ /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) a foolish, meddling, and usually old official

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dogberryism
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• Dogberrys
  plural
• dogberries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of dogberry

First recorded in 1545–55; dog + berry

Example Sentences

Yes, I thank God, I am as honest as any man living, that is an old man and no honester than I. DOGBERRY.

From Much Ado about Nothing by Shakespeare, William