Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
wolfberry

wolfberry

1 7.9
A small bush that makes red or orange edible berries used in food and medicine
  • noun
  • /ˈwʊlfˌbɛri/
translation icon : bayas de goji
  • The chef often uses wolfberries in her dishes for added nutrition.

Examples

  • Shall I tell you of Roberto, who traveled to Serica and returned with the wolfberries so beloved of House Tremere?

    Blog text (5)

  • In Chinese medicine, wolfberries are prized for their health benefits.

  • You can find wolfberries in health food stores as a supplement.

Synonyms

Lycium barbarum
vswolfberry
  • Specialized
8.6

A small bush with spiny branches that produces bright orange-red berries called goji berries

is broader, covering the whole genus rather than a single species

Surface Forms

wolfberry singular
wolfberries plural

Morphology

wolfberry = wolf + berry (semi-transparent) = wolf + berry

The parts 'wolf' + 'berry' clearly indicate it is a kind of berry, but the specific botanical reference (Lycium / goji) and cultural associations are not deducible from the components alone.

Etymology

Wolfberry comes from the simple parts wolf and berry, so it means 'wolf's berry', and one idea is that wolves ate the wild red fruit or it grew where wolves lived. That's why wolfberry today refers to the small red berry often used in food and medicine.