Raspberry

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈɹɑːzb(ə)ɹi/

Definitions

1. A small aggregate fruit consisting of many drupelets clustered on a central core, typically red, black, or golden in color, with a sweet-tart flavor commonly eaten fresh or used in jams and desserts
2. A sweet-tart berry composed of clustered drupelets around a core, often red or black, eaten fresh or processed into preserves and confections
3. A small soft fruit made of many tiny rounded segments joined to a central axis, typically purple or crimson, prized for its flavor in culinary applications

Etymology: The fruit's name may have begun life as the name of a wine. Anglo-Latin records include "vinum raspeys," a sweet rose-coloured wine, and English may have turned its name into "raspis berry," with the fruit later shortened to "raspberry." The wine's own origin is uncertain, so the link is a possibility rather than a settled fact. Some scholars connect the name to "rasp," a word meaning coarse or rough, which is of Germanic origin. That fits the fruit's bumpy, textured surface, though the connection is also unproven. The fruit has a less dignified sideline. In Cockney rhyming slang, "raspberry tart" stood for "fart," and the word "raspberry" came to name the rude noise made by blowing through pursed lips, which imitates that sound. Fruit-lovers rarely use it for a fart itself, but the noise is still called a raspberry today.

Synonyms: berry, fruit