cranberry English · revision 960

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ˈkɹæn.b(ə).ɹi/ ''(UK)''; /ˈkɹæn.bɛɹ.i/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ Apparently an American English adaptation of [[nds|Kraanbere]], [[af|nds|kraan|bere|t1=crane|t2=berry]],^(AHD)^(Barnhart 1995)^(Etymonline)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU) partly translated as English [[crane]] and [[berry]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate) The reason for the name is unknown;^(Etymonline) perhaps the plant's stamens were thought to look like cranes' beaks.^(Etymonline) Swedish ''tranbär'' and Danish ''tranebær'' are formed in the same way.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The fruit of the cranberry, in American English (1647 in Barnhart and Merriam-Webster; 1672 in the OED).^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ German and Dutch settlers in America recognized the similarity between the European berry (''Vaccinium oxycoccos'') and the larger North American one (''V. macrocarpon'') and transferred the name.^(Etymonline) The berries and their name were brought to England by the 1680s, where the name was later applied to the native plant, earlier called ''fenberry'' or ''marshwort''.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) It is also used as a colour name, a dark red.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1640s – the berry, in American English.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1995)^(MW Collegiate)

+ * 1672 – the OED's first quotation.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1807 – compounds such as ''cranberry sauce''.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1836 – other plants with similar fruit.^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # An [[evergreen]] trailing shrub, ''Vaccinium macrocarpon'' of eastern North America, with pink flowers and tart red berries; also, related plants such as ''V. oxycoccos''.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # The red, acid berry of such a plant, used in sauces, jellies and juice.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)^(RHWU)^(Wiktionary)

+ # A dark red colour.^(MW Collegiate)^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[highbush cranberry]]

+ * [[mountain cranberry]]

+ * [[cranberry bush]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[crane]]

+ * [[berry]]

+ * [[bilberry]]

+ * [[lingonberry]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}