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blaeberry

blaeberry

9.9
A small sweet blue-black berry like a blueberry that grows on a low shrub
  • noun
  • /ˈbleɪbəri/
  • UK
translation icon : mora
  • On our walk through the highlands, we gathered handfuls of blaeberries from the shrubs.

Examples

  • The tart flavor of blaeberries makes them perfect for homemade jams and desserts.

  • The blaeberry is sweeter than a blueberry.

  • Children used to stain their fingers picking blaeberry in the summer woods.

  • I picked some blaeberries from the bush.

  • On our walk through the highlands, we gathered handfuls of blaeberries from the shrubs.

  • Children used to stain their fingers picking blaeberry in the summer woods.

  • The tart flavor of blaeberries makes them perfect for homemade jams and desserts.

Synonyms

bilberry
vsblaeberry
1 7.5

A small dark blue berry like a blueberry that grows on a low bush and can be eaten

is an erect shrub bearing sweet berries rather than a low-growing plant
Vaccinium myrtillus
vsblaeberry
  • Specialized
9.9

A small European shrub that has edible blue-black berries

is the common name rather than a scientific label
whortleberry
vsblaeberry
  • UK
9.9

A small shrub that has blue-black berries you can eat

is about the sweet berry rather than the whole shrub
European blueberry
vsblaeberry
  • UK
2.9

A small dark blue berry that grows wild in European forests

is linked to an erect shrub rather than only the fruit
whinberry
vsblaeberry
  • Archaic
9.9

A low bush with small dark blue edible berries

is the berry from an erect shrub rather than a low plant
bog bilberry
vsblaeberry
9.3

A low evergreen shrub with leathery leaves that grows in bogs and produces small blue-black berries

is the general European berry rather than a bog-specific plant
tall bilberry
vsblaeberry
  • US
8.7

A tall bush from eastern North America that makes sweet blue-black berries used to grow blueberries

is a small sweet European berry rather than a North American shrub

How Sweet

blackberry
13 1.0
blaeberry
  • UK
9.9
blueberry
96 1.0
blackcurrant
1 3.2
cranberry
61 1.4

Surface Forms

blaeberry singular
blaeberries plural

Morphology

blaeberry = blae + berry (opaque) = blae + berry

The first element 'blae' is a Scots dialect word for 'blue' and is unfamiliar to most learners, so the compound's meaning is not derivable by an average B1 learner from its parts.

Etymology

Blaeberry comes from the Scots word blae, meaning 'blue', plus berry, so the name simply means a 'blue' berry. A helpful way to remember it is to think of the familiar blueberry, which explains why a blaeberry is a small blue-black berry related to the blueberry.