blackberry

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English blakberie, blakeberie (“brambleberry”), from Old English blacu berġe, blæcberġe (attested in plural blaca berġan, equivalent to black +‎ berry. === Pronunciation === (UK) IPA(key): /ˈblækbəɹi/, /ˈblækbɹi/ (US) IPA(key): /ˈblækbɛɹi/ === Noun === blackberry (plural blackberries) A fruit-bearing shrub of the aggregate species Rubus fruticosus and some hybrids. Synonyms: bramble, brambleberry Hypernym: berry Coordinate term: black raspberry The soft fruit borne by this shrub, formed of a black (when ripe) cluster of drupelets. Synonyms: bramble, brambleberry Hypernyms: berry < fruit Coordinate term: black raspberry (loosely, informal) Any Rubus berry that is black or blackish; the plant that produces it. (UK, dialectal) The blackcurrant. ==== Usage notes ==== The loosest Rubus-referent sense (noun sense 3) is used only informally, by speakers who are botanical and horticultural laypersons. This sense views Rubus fruticosus, Rubus occidentalis, and Rubus leucodermis as merely different kinds of blackberry. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Verb === blackberry (third-person singular simple present blackberries, present participle blackberrying, simple past and past participle blackberried) To gather or forage for blackberries. ==== Derived terms ==== blackberrying ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === blackberry on Wikipedia.Wikipedia Rubus fruticosus on Wikispecies.Wikispecies