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Glite Dictionary
🍇 A poisonous berry 🟣 A purple color
pokeberry

pokeberry

1 9.9
A dark purple berry from the pokeweed plant that is often poisonous and used to make dye and ink
  • noun
  • /ˈpoʊkˌbɛri/
  • US
: baya de poke
  • Children should not eat pokeberries because they can be poisonous.

Examples

  • The children were told not to touch the pokeberry bushes in the backyard.

  • Birds sometimes eat pokeberries, but they can be dangerous for humans.

  • The deep purple stain from a crushed pokeberry is difficult to remove from clothing.

  • The pokeberry is known for its dark purple color.

  • The pokeberry is known for its dark purple color and is often mistaken for other edible berries.

  • Birds enjoy eating pokeberries, but they can be toxic to humans if ingested.

  • Artists sometimes use the juice from pokeberries to create natural dyes or ink.

Surface Forms

pokeberry singular
pokeberries plural

Morphology

pokeberry = poke + berry (transparent) = poke + berry

A direct compound meaning 'the berry of the poke (pokeweed) plant'; the components directly predict the referent.

Etymology

Pokeberry names the dark purple berries of the plant called poke, a name English borrowed from a Native American word for the plant. Because people used the berry juice for dye and ink and the berries can be poisonous, the name makes you think of their 'deep, staining color' and a warning not to eat them.