boysenberry
Americannoun
noun
-
a type of bramble: a hybrid of the loganberry and various blackberries and raspberries
-
the large red edible fruit of this plant
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of boysenberry
1930–35; named after R. Boysen, 20th-century American botanist, who bred it
Explanation
A boysenberry is what you get when you cross a raspberry, a blackberry, and a couple of other berries. It's a soft, slightly tart fruit that's especially delicious in pies. A California horticulturalist, Rudolph Boysen, developed the boysenberry in the 1920s. Boysen experimented with cross-pollinating raspberries, blackberries, and loganberries (hybrid berries themselves) in the hopes of cultivating a big, soft berry, but he eventually abandoned the project. Berry farmer Walter Knott rescued his few last plants several years later, named them after Boysen, and found commercial success selling the large, sweet-tart berries from his farm stand.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Hungry diners would flock from around Southern California for a taste of their chicken dinners and boysenberry pies.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 23, 2026
The 38-inch long coat has a stylish removable belt and hood and is available in seven colors, including black, British Khaki, moss, steel blue, boysenberry, chili red and terracotta.
From Fox News ● Nov. 29, 2021
The flavor expression is more boysenberry than California’s cranberry, with herbal notes of rosemary and sage.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 9, 2021
Zerba Cellars 2014 Syrah The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater, $45: This dusty, distinctive red reveals aromas and flavors of black currants, boysenberry, mocha, white pepper, clove and juicy purple fruit through the lengthy, memorable finish.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 28, 2017
Reentering the pantry, he removed a large jar of boysenberry preserves, pulling another jar forward from the second row to disguise the absence.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
Raspberries have been crossed with other brambles to get boysenberries, loganberries and tayberries.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 3, 2024
Fun fact: Loganberries are a cross between black- and raspberries; boysenberries of logan, black-, and raspberries.
From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2022
“If it’s just four to five hours of direct sunlight, stick to strawberries and cane berries — like blackberries, boysenberries and raspberries.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2021
When the narrator of Tom McCarthy's C talks about "poisonberries", is it a mistake for boysenberries?
From The Guardian ● Oct. 17, 2010
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
