cowberry
cowberry Lexical Profile
cowberry Game Scores & Validity
• noun
The small, tart, red, edible berry produced by the cowberry shrub, frequently harvested in northern climates for culinary use.
"She gathered a basket of ripe cowberries in the late summer to make a traditional tart sauce for the roast."
A low-growing, evergreen shrub (Vaccinium vitis-idaea) in the heath family, native to boreal forests and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere.
"The hikers spotted a dense patch of cowberry growing in the acidic, peaty soil of the Scandinavian pine forest."
Word Nuance & Usage
In North America, the term 'cowberry' is rarely used; the plant and its fruit are much more commonly referred to by their Swedish-derived name, 'lingonberry', especially in culinary contexts.
Word Origin & Etymology
Formed in English from 'cow' + 'berry' in the late 16th century, either as a direct translation from a Germanic language or because the berries were historically considered rough forage for livestock.