whortleberry means any of several shrubs belonging to the genus Vaccinium:; Vaccinium myrtillus (bilberry or blue whortleberry);. Lexicurio rates it Rare gem — a strength score of 79 out of 100.
whortleberry is pronounced /ˈwɝtl̩bɛɹi/.
Why “whortleberry” is a great word
A small, edible berry from a shrub of the genus Vaccinium, particularly the wild European bilberry. Its name is a 16th-century alteration of Middle English hurtilbery (see hurtleberry), analysable as whortle + berry. Unlike "huckleberry," which denotes North American Gaylussacia species, or "blueberry," which conjures cultivated, plumper varieties, "whortleberry" speaks of a smaller, darker, Old World wildness. It is the stain of purple on fingertips after a forage, the tart burst in a summer pudding, and the humble, ground-hugging shrub of heath and moor—a word as compact, tangy, and quietly persistent as the fruit it names.
Etymology
An alteration of Middle English hurtilbery, hurtil-beri (see English hurtleberry), analysable as whortle + berry. Compare English huckleberry.
noun
- Any of several shrubs belonging to the genus Vaccinium:; Vaccinium myrtillus (bilberry or blue whortleberry);
- Any of several shrubs belonging to the genus Vaccinium:; Vaccinium vitis-idaea (lingonberry or red whortleberry);
- Any of several shrubs belonging to the genus Vaccinium:; Vaccinium uliginosum (bog whortleberry or bilberry).
- A berry of one of these shrubs.
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