English

fishberry

From fish + berry, from its use in catching fish by stupefying them with the poison of the dried fruit.

A compound of fish + berry

Proto-Indo-European *piskós

Proto-Germanic *fiskaz

Proto-West Germanic *fisk

Old English fisċ

Middle English fisch ‘an animal that inhabits the water or the meat…’

English fish

Proto-Germanic *bazją

Proto-West Germanic *baʀi

Old English berġe

Middle English berie ‘a berry’

English berry

Today it means

noun The poisonous fruit of Anamirta cocculus.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / fishberry