mulberry

noun

mul·​ber·​ry ˈməl-ˌber-ē How to pronounce mulberry (audio)
-b(ə-)rē
1
: any of a genus (Morus of the family Moraceae, the mulberry family) of trees with an edible usually purple multiple fruit that is an aggregate of juicy one-seeded drupes
also : the fruit
2
: a dark purple or purplish black

Examples of mulberry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Here, traditional saa paper is made by hand from the bark of mulberry trees: soaked, pulped, and pressed into delicate sheets embedded with local flowers and leaves. Lauren Mowery, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025 Five years later, a memorial was built to honor the victims in the same place as the crash, surrounding a mulberry tree that survived the implosion of the building. Jordana Comiter, People.com, 24 Apr. 2025 According to ancient Chinese lore, the wife of the Yellow Emperor was sipping hot tea under a mulberry tree when the cocoon of a silkworm, the larva of a silk moth, fell into her cup. Amy Paturel, Discover Magazine, 22 Apr. 2025 As of Wednesday, Sacramento was experiencing high pollen counts from mulberry and oak trees, Parikh said. Camila Pedrosa, Sacramento Bee, 22 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mulberry

Word History

Etymology

Middle English mulbere, mulbery, probably dissimilated from Old English *mūrberie, variant of mōrberie (with mūr- as in mūrbēam "mulberry tree"), from mūr- (borrowed from Medieval Latin mūrum, variant of Latin mōrum "black mulberry, blackberry," probably of Mediterranean substratal origin, as also Greek móron "black mulberry, blackberry," Armenian mor "blackberry") + berie berry entry 1

Note: The presumed dissimilated form represented by Middle English mulbere is paralleled by Middle Low German mūlbēre "mulberry" (next to mūrbēre), Old Saxon mūlbōm "mulberry tree" (in a gloss, next to mōrbōm), late Old High German mūlboum, mūlbere (in glosses, next to mūrberi, mōrberi, mūrboum). The assumption has been made that the Middle English word was borrowed from Middle Low German, though it seems more likely that dissimilated forms were passed northward through the West Germanic speech area—or developed independently—as the word diffused along with cultivation of the berry in the Carolingian period; cultivation of mulberries is mentioned in the late-8th-century Capitulare de villis dealing with the upkeep of Charlemagne's estates.

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of mulberry was in the 14th century

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Cite this Entry

“Mulberry.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mulberry. Accessed 28 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

mulberry

noun
mul·​ber·​ry ˈməl-ˌber-ē How to pronounce mulberry (audio)
1
: any of a genus of trees that have small edible usually purple fruits and leaves on which silkworms can be fed
also : the fruit of a mulberry
2
: a dark purple or purplish black

Medical Definition

mulberry

noun
mul·​ber·​ry ˈməl-ˌber-ē, -b(ə-)rē How to pronounce mulberry (audio)
plural mulberries
: any of a genus (Morus of the family Moraceae, the mulberry family) of trees with an edible usually purple fruit that includes one (M. nigra) with a fruit whose juice is sometimes used for its medicinal properties
also : the fruit

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