whortleberry

American  

[hwur-tl-ber-ee, wur-] / ˈʰwɜr tlˌbɛr i, ˈwɜr- /

noun

whortleberries plural

1. the edible black berry of a Eurasian shrub, Vaccinium myrtillus, of the heath family.

2. the shrub itself.

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whortleberry British  

/ ˈwɜːtəlˌbɛrɪ /

noun

1. Also called : huckleberry.   hurt.   whort.  a small Eurasian ericaceous shrub, Vaccinium myrtillus , greenish-pink flowers and edible sweet blackish berries

2. the fruit of this shrub

3. a related plant, V. uliginosum, of mountain regions, having pink flowers and black fruits

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• whortleberries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of whortleberry

First recorded in 1570–80; dialectal variant of hurtleberry

Example Sentences

Mr. Glass continued in an interrogative vein as mordant as the whortleberry juice of his beautiful homeland.

From Time Magazine Archive

For the most part it was covered with a thick growth of gorse and whortleberry, and low tough thorns, though here and there clearings opened, the scars of recent fires.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

“You can see that everywhere; and these bluebell-harebell-campanula things, and the dandelion blossoms, and the whortleberry and hogweed and wild parsley stuff: you see them all at home.”

From The Crystal Hunters A Boy's Adventures in the Higher Alps by Burton, Frederic William

Spread over the top a meringue similar to that described for whortleberry pudding, and leave it in the oven just long enough to brown.

From The Century Cook Book by Ronald, Mary

Among these are Ladies Bedstraw, whortleberry, yellow iris, bracken, bramble, meadow sweet, alder, heather and many others.

From Vegetable Dyes Being a Book of Recipes and Other Information Useful to the Dyer by Mairet, Ethel M.