elderberry

American  

[el-der-ber-ee, -buh-ree] / ˈɛl dərˌbɛr i, -bə ri /

noun

plural

elderberries

1. the berrylike fruit of the elder, old, used in making wine and jelly.

2. elder.

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elderberry British  

/ ˈɛldəˌbɛrɪ /

noun

1. the berry-like fruit of the elder, used for making wines, jellies, etc

2. another name for elder 1

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Usage

What else does elderberry mean? Elderberries are edible, bluish purple berries popularly used to help fight colds and flus.Elderberries are humorously referenced in a popular quote from the 1975 comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail: "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries."

Etymology

Origin of elderberry

First recorded in 1400–50, elderberry is from the late Middle English word eldirbery. See elder ², berry

Example Sentences

The ditches were thronged with elderberry and dark with patches of mint down low.

From Literature

To his surprise, it was elderberry juice: tart and strengthening.

From Literature

Built around the metaphor of elderberries, a fruit that can heal or poison depending on how it's handled, the song captures the tension of staying in a relationship you know is toxic.

From BBC

Back before California was settled by Europeans and others, the Miwok and Nisenan subsisted on a hunter-gatherer diet of acorns, venison, salmon, pine nuts, elderberries, and other berries and plants.

From Los Angeles Times

We have passion fruit vines everywhere, and elderberry.

From Los Angeles Times