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So even though a word "blue berry" exists in Danish/Norwegian/Swedish (blåbær/blåbær/blåbär) and German (blaubeere) and even in Scots (blaeberry), the English c
by sampo 7y ago
So even though a word "blue berry" exists in Danish/Norwegian/Swedish (blåbær/blåbær/blåbär) and German (blaubeere) and even in Scots (blaeberry),
the English called them whortleberries? And the English language just didn't have the word blueberry until the American berries were brought to Europe? Fascinating.
Well, apparently also Dutch, French, Italian and Spanish don't have a word "blue berry" (Dutch has now, for the American blueberry). So maybe it's not that universal.
- benj111 7y agoThe Southern English call them whortleberries. What can I say, they're strange folk down there ;) To be fair blueberries aren't that blue, and bilberries even less so, it's about as self evident as describing white grapes as white. It's even possible the fruit predates the colour. That's the case for Orange which only became a colour in the 16th Century, and was named after the fruit.