hackberry

American  

[hak-ber-ee, -buh-ree] / ˈhækˌbɛr i, -bə ri /

noun

plural

hackberries

1. any of several trees or shrubs belonging to the genus Celtis, of the elm family, bearing cherrylike fruit.

2. the sometimes edible fruit of such a tree.

3. the wood of such a tree.

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hackberry British  

/ ˈhækˌbɛrɪ /

noun

1. any American tree or shrub of the ulmaceous genus Celtis, having edible cherry-like fruits

2. the fruit or soft yellowish wood of such a tree

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Etymology

Origin of hackberry

1775–85, variant of hagberry (of Scandinavian origin)

Example Sentences

Over three decades, neighborhood foresters have transformed Dunbar Spring’s bald curbsides into lush forests of mesquite, hackberry, cholla and prickly pear cactus and more—all plants that have edible parts.

From Salon

Here grow maple, oak, hickory, cottonwood, sycamore, river birch, hackberry, fronds bowed under climbing English ivy, with winter creeper spreading underfoot.

From New York Times

Standing beside the hackberry shrubs with hundreds of empty desiccated cocoons still clinging to their branches and a carpet of butterfly corpses under her feet, La Llorona did not look anything like a malevolent specter.

From Literature

Cankerworm caterpillars of the hackberry leafroller moth have infested North Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area, after recent rains provided conditions amenable to their life cycle.

From Washington Times

Todd’s tee shot had flown left and come to rest against the trunk of a hackberry tree.

From Golf Digest