Whinberry

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A small dark blue or black berry that grows on low-growing plants in moorland and heathland areas
2. A tiny wild fruit resembling a blueberry, found on shrubs in upland regions of the British Isles
3. A small edible berry with dark coloring that grows on low vegetation across moors and heaths in northern Europe

Etymology: The whinberry is a small plant berry, and its name is a sort of linguistic accident. It began as the Old English "wīnberġe," meaning "wine-berry," a name for the grape. The word passed through Middle English as "winberie" and "wineberie," and then the form "winberry" appeared. Over time this shifted to "whimberry," and the word was also spelled "whinberry" in later usage. The change in the consonants is the surprising part. The "nb" cluster in the word regularly became "mb," just as the Old English "henep" became our modern "hemp." The initial "wh-" sound was likely pulled in by "whin," the old name for gorse, a prickly shrub. Some speakers also remodelled the word as "windberry," treating it as "wind" plus "berry," even though the real origin lies in wine. So a word that began by naming a fruit of the vine now names a wild shrub berry that has nothing to do with wine at all.

Synonyms: bilberry, whortleberry, blaeberry