crowberry

English

Etymology

From crow +‎ berry; probably a calque of German Krähenbeere. Apparently so-called due to birds' fondness for the fruit. Yet the dark color (compare Old Norse blár (“blue-black, like a raven's sheen”)) may be the main or another factor; compare Inuktitut paurngaq (“crowberry”) (allegedly meaning "which looks like soot").

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈkɹəʊbəɹɪ/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

Noun

crowberry (plural crowberries)

1. Empetrum; a small genus of dwarf evergreen shrubs that bear edible fruit.

   Synonym: crakeberry

   1. Empetrum nigrum; a species of crowberry.

      Synonym: mossberry

      • 1905, Maude Gridley Peterson, How to Know Wild Fruits: A Guide to Plants When Not in Flower by Means of Fruit and Leaf‎^[1], Macmillan, page 202:

        Black crowberry. Empetrum nigrum. Crowberry Family. Fruit. — The black drupe is berrylike, globular, and incloses six to nine seedlike nutlets with a seed in each. The calyx is at the base and the stigma is at the apex. The drupes are solitary in the leaf axils. They are juicy, acid, edible, and serve as food for the Arctic birds.

2. A fruit of this plant.

Derived terms

• red crowberry

Translations

the genus Empetrum

• Chukchi: ԓыгоонъыԓгын (ḷygoonʺyḷgyn)
• Czech: šicha f
• Danish: revling
• Faroese: berjalyngur m, berlyngur m
• Finnish: variksenmarja (fi)
• French: camarine (fr) f
• German: Krähenbeere f
• Ingrian: sikamarja
• Norwegian: krekling
• Old Norse: krækiber n
• Polish: bażyna (pl) f, bagnisko (pl) n (obsolete)
• Romanian: vuietoare (ro) f
• Russian: ворони́ка (ru) f (voroníka), водяни́ка (ru) f (vodjaníka), ши́кша f (šíkša)
• Swedish: kråkbär (sv) n
• Tanana:

  Lower Tanana: dotron' jega'

• Turkish: karga üzümü
• Welsh: creiglus f pl

the species Empetrum nigrum

• Alutiiq: augyaq m
• Bulgarian: черен емпетрум m (čeren empetrum)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 岩高蘭 / 岩高兰 (zh) (yángāolán)

• Cree:

  East Cree:

  Southern East Cree: ᐊᔅᒌᒥᓈᓐᐦ (asciiminaanh)

• Czech: šicha černá
• Danish: almindelig revling, revling
• Dutch: kraaiheide f
• Finnish: variksenmarja (fi)
• French: camarine noire (fr) f
• Norwegian: krekling
• Polish: bażyna czarna (pl) f
• Romanian: vuietoare (ro) f
• Sami:

  Skolt Sami: čuõ´mmjõš

• Swedish: kråkbär (sv) n
• Tanana:

  Lower Tanana: dotron' jega'

• Welsh: creiglus f pl, llus y brain f pl

fruit

• Cree:

  Montagnais: assimin

• Faroese: svartber n, svarber n
• Finnish: variksenmarja (fi)
• French: camarine (fr) f
• German: Krähenbeere f
• Icelandic: krækiber (is) n
• Russian: ворони́ка (ru) f (voroníka), водяни́ка (ru) f (vodjaníka)
• Sami:

  Northern Sami: čáhppesmuorji

• Scottish Gaelic: dearc-fhìona f, dearc-fithich f
• Spanish: murtilla (es) f
• Tanana:

  Lower Tanana: dotron' jega'

• Turkish: karga üzümü
• Welsh: creiglus f pl, llus y brain f pl

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Sami:

  Northern Sami: ^{(please verify)} čáhppesmuorji