Dogberries

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The fruits from the dogwood tree, often small and red, commonly used in jellies or as wildlife food
2. Edible berries produced by certain dogwood species, typically found in clusters and ranging in color from red to purple
3. Small, fleshy, and sweet fruits of the dogwood plant, frequently enjoyed by birds and used in traditional recipes

Etymology: "Dogberries" is simply the plural of "dogberry," so the real story lies in its parts. The first part, "dog," is used here in the sense of something coarse or inferior, as with "dog rose," a wild rose whose blooms and hips are less prized than cultivated varieties. The second part, "berry," is an ordinary word for a small fleshy fruit. Put together, the name marks the fruit of the dogwood tree as a plainer, less useful relative of the berries people actually eat. The word belongs to a wider pattern of names in which "dog" flags a plant as wild or worthless. English has "dogwood" itself, and the same idea appears across other languages. German "Hundbeere" names bittersweet, while Lithuanian "šùnobelė" names buckthorn, both built on the idea of a dog-like or inferior berry. Ancient Greek "kunósbatos," literally "dog-bramble," was used for an evergreen rose, showing that the same comparison was made more than two thousand years ago.