earthberry

See also: earth-berry

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From earth + berry, likely modelled after German Erdbeere, Danish jordbær, etc. Compare also Old English eorþberiġe (strawberry, literally earthberry).

Noun

earthberry (plural earthberries)

  1. (rare, nonstandard) strawberry (plant and fruit)
    • 1869, The South American Missionary Magazine Vol. III. 1869:
      The berries of the islands are sweet black currants, cranberries or goosh, strawberries and earthberries, together with the diddy, mountain, and malvina berries common to the Falkland Islands.
    • 1882, St. Nicholas - Volume 9:
      One time, the poor man had had no bread in the cupboard for a whole week, and the family lived on roots and stewed earthberries.
    • 1999, 2000 Herbal Almanac:
      Wild Strawberries (Fragaria virginiana): A member of the rose family, the strawberry also has the nickname earthberry. No one could mistake this plant's succulent red and juicy berries.
    • 2012, Lena Horn, The Celestial Saga: Forgotten Fox:
      It didn't take long for the waves of heat to reach him, and with them came the scents of tempanuts, earthberries, and honey.
    • 2013, Desmond Hogan, Farewell to Prague:
      One evening in Norway we had earthberries and cream just as Mr Haythornthwaite, the Englishman who visited our town when I was a child, would have had in Norway in the nine-teen-twenties.
    • 2014, Denis Dunstone, Why Is an Apple a Pomme?:
      The Portuguese word is also a mystery. In northern Europe it is simply the earth-berry due to the plant's habit of creeping along the ground.
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