Word of the Week:
Craneberries

The word "cranberry" came into English from the colonists of North America, who took the word from either German kranbeere or Low German kranebere, both of which mean "crane-berry." What is interesting about the word is that there already was a type of cranberry in England, the Vaccinium Oxycoccus, before the English went to the Americas. It was called "marshwhort," "fenwhort," "marshberry," "fenberry," or "moss-berry." When the colonists sent back the North American variety, the Vaccinium Macrocarpon, and called it "cranberry," the word just took over as a designation for both varieties. So while the cranes were migrating northward and southward, the berries migrated eastward, and their name took the field.

Contributed by Dr. Jacques Bailly

Logodaedalyland: The place where old words of the week go to play.