English
berry
Berry comes from Middle English berie ‘a berry’, and goes back to Proto-Germanic *bazją.
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bazjąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*baʀireconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150berġe
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500berie‘a berry’
- Englishearliest quotation 1877berry
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bazjąreconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*baʀireconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150berġe
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500berie‘a berry’
- Englishearliest quotation 1877berry
Earliest quotation: 1877, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Comm, Parliamentary Papers - Volume 24: “The crabs carry their berries for six months.”
The story
The slang sense "police car" may come from the lights on the vehicles' roofs.
Every English word from Proto-Germanic *bazją
Another origin of berry
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰerǵʰ-‘to rise up, be elevated’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰérǵʰos‘hill’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*bergaz‘mountain, hill’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*berg‘hill, mountain’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150beorg‘mountain, hill, mound, barrow’
- Old English, derivedc. 450–1150beorġedative form of beorg
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500berȝe
- Englishtodayberry
Another origin of berry
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500bery‘a burrow’
- Englishtodayberry
Another origin of berry
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰerH-‘to rip, cut, split, grate’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*barjaną‘to beat, hit’reconstructed
- Proto-West Germanicc. 200–500 CE*barjan‘to beat, strike’reconstructed
- Old Englishc. 450–1150*berianreconstructed
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500beryen
- Englishtodayberry
Today it means
noun A small succulent fruit, of any one of many varieties.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Germanic *bazją / berry