cranberry
[ kran-ber-ee, -buh-ree ]
/ ˈkrænˌbɛr i, -bə ri /
|
noun, plural cran·ber·ries.
the red, acid fruit or berry of certain plants of the genus Vaccinium, of the heath family, as V. macrocarpon (large cranberry or American cranberry) or V. oxycoccus (small cranberry or European cranberry), used in making sauce, relish, jelly, or juice.
the plant itself, growing wild in bogs or cultivated in acid soils, especially in the northeastern U.S.
RELATED CONTENT
Why Do We Call Them Berries?The berry family is a linguistic invention particular to Germanic languages, like English. Other languages, like Spanish and French, do not combine the wide, diverse berry family into one group, but rather have very different words for blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and strawberries.
Nearby words
crampton test, cran, cranach, cranach, lucas, cranage, cranberry, cranberry bog, cranberry bush, cranberry glass, cranberry gourd, cranberry tree
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for cranberry
British Dictionary definitions for cranberry
cranberry
/ (ˈkrænbərɪ, -brɪ) /
noun plural -ries
any of several trailing ericaceous shrubs of the genus Vaccinium, such as the European V. oxycoccus, that bear sour edible red berries
the berry of this plant, used to make sauce or jelly
Word Origin for cranberry
C17: from Low German kraanbere, from kraan crane + bere berry
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for cranberry
cranberry
1640s, American English adaptation of Low German kraanbere, from kraan "crane" (see crane (n.)) + Middle Low German bere "berry" (see berry). Perhaps so called from a resemblance between the plants' stamens and the beaks of cranes.
German and Dutch settlers in the New World apparently recognized the similarity between the European berries (Vaccinium oxycoccos) and the larger North American variety (V. macrocarpum) and transferred the name. In England, they were marshwhort or fenberries, but the North American berries, and the name, were brought over late 17c. The native Algonquian name for the plant is represented by West Abenaki popokwa.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper