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whortleberry

 - 3 dictionary results

whor⋅tle⋅ber⋅ry

  [hwur-tl-ber-ee, wur-]
Use whortleberry in a Sentence
–noun, plural -ries.
1. the edible black berry of a Eurasian shrub, Vaccinium myrtillus, of the heath family.
2. the shrub itself.
Also, hurtleberry.

Origin:
1570–80; dial. var. of hurtleberry
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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whor·tle·ber·ry   (hwûrt'l-běr'ē, wûrt'-)   
n.  

  1. Either of two deciduous shrubs, Vaccinium myrtillus, of Eurasia, or V. corymbosum, of eastern North America, having edible blackish berries.

  2. The fruit of either of these plants.


[Dialectal variant of hurtleberry, from Middle English hurtilberi : perhaps alteration of hurt, an azure-colored ball (from Old French heurte) + berye, beri, berry; see berry.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

whortleberry 
1578, southwestern Eng. variant of hurtleberry (see huckleberry).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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