thimbleberry

[thim-buhl-ber-ee]

noun

plural

thimbleberries 

1. any of several American raspberries bearing a thimble-shaped fruit, especially the black raspberry, Rubus occidentalis.

Word History and Origins

Origin of thimbleberry¹

An Americanism dating back to 1780–90; thimble + berry

Example Sentences

Succulent, peachy salmonberries and velvety thimbleberry bush fronds flank the entrance to the trail, blanketed in soft shade from the outstretched limbs of towering Western red cedar, Douglas fir and hemlock.

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Chicory, St. John’s wort, thimbleberries and other plants and herbs grow wild on the property.

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In summer, I gorged on blackberries, delicately picked bright red thimbleberries and, when their pink blossoms fell, hunted for the electric hue of salmonberries.

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June burst into bloom—daisies, larkspur, meadowsweet and thyme, foxglove and thimbleberry, purple thistle flowers, and yellow whorls of blooming fennel.

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"I've been in those woods several years so I knew huckleberries and thimbleberries were safe and grasshoppers as well," he said.

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