eorðberige
The English word strawberry is eorðberige in Old English.
This term refers to the accessory fruit known as a strawberry.
Meaning: accessory fruit (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word eorðberige is a compound of eorðe (earth) and berige (berry), so it literally means 'earth-berry'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The form eorðberige is a feminine singular noun in the nominative case.
Did you know?
- The 'ð' in eorðberige is called an 'eth', a letter that represented the 'th' sound in 'this' and was eventually replaced by the combination of 't' and 'h'.
- Because eorðberige is a feminine noun, any adjectives describing the strawberry in an Old English sentence would have to use feminine endings, a grammatical distinction that vanished in Modern English.
- In Old English, the word berige is a cognate of the modern German word Beere, showing that the ancestral Germanic languages shared a specific term for these small fruits long before English evolved.
Example conversation
Osric and Eadgyth are gathering fruit in a field.
- OsricLōca, Eadgyth, ān eorðberige!Look, Eadgyth, a strawberry!
- EadgythHwǣr is hēo, Osric?Where is it, Osric?
- OsricHēo is under þām leafum.It is under the leaves.
- EadgythÞēos eorðberige is swīðe rēad.This strawberry is very red.
