dogberry

1 of 2

noun (1)

1

: any of certain small fruits usually considered inferior or unfit for human consumption (as the chokeberry, prickly wild gooseberry, certain rose hips, or the fruit of the mountain ash)

especially : the fruit of the red dogwood

2

: any plant (as certain dogwoods, mountain ash, or yellow clintonia) that bears dogberries

Dogberry

2 of 2

noun (2)

Dog·​ber·​ry

ˈdȯgˌberē sometimes ˈdäg-

plural Dogberrys

: a blundering official

often : policeman, constable

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

dog entry 1 + berry

Noun (2)

from Dogberry, a foolish constable in Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1676, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Noun (2)

1801, in the meaning defined above

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