boxberry

American  

[boks-ber-ee, -buh-ree] / ˈbɒksˌbɛr i, -bə ri /

noun

• boxberries
  plural

1. the checkerberry.

2. the partridgeberry.

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boxberry British  

/ ˈbɒksbərɪ /

noun

1. the fruit of the partridgeberry or wintergreen

2. another name for partridgeberry wintergreen

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• boxberries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of boxberry

An Americanism dating back to 1700–10; box ³ + berry

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

boxberry boxberries

Upon that the boys went to work picking boxberry leaves, which grew at the roots of the pine trees, among the soft moss and last year's cones.

From Captain Horace by Sophie May

Some people call it the boxberry; and some call it wintergreen.

From The Nursery, September 1873, Vol. XIV. No. 3 by Various

Have no objection, either, to his bringing Elinor boxberry plums.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 108, October, 1866 by Various

Daily I met happy groups of Wallencampers, with baskets and pails in their hands, going "boxberry plummin.'"

From Cape Cod Folks by Sarah P. McLean Greene

I never read yet of any maiden losing her heart on boxberry plums; though, to be sure, he might bewitch them.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 108, October, 1866 by Various

The children gathered the summer berries in season, and the autumn's plentiful and spicy store of boxberries, checkerberries, teaberries or gingerbread berries with October's brown nuts.

From Customs and Fashions in Old New England by Alice Morse Earle

Yankee children will understand at once that I mean the checkerberries, or, as we were more accustomed to call them, the boxberries.

From A Rambler's lease by Bradford Torrey

In the other hand, he held out to me a basket of large, selected boxberries.

From Cape Cod Folks by Sarah P. McLean Greene