hackberry

[ hak-ber-ee, -buh-ree ]

noun

, plural hack·ber·ries.

1. any of several trees or shrubs belonging to the genus Celtis, of the elm family, bearing cherrylike fruit.
2. the sometimes edible fruit of such a tree.
3. the wood of such a tree.

hackberry

/ ˈhækˌbɛrɪ /

noun

1. any American tree or shrub of the ulmaceous genus Celtis, having edible cherry-like fruits
2. the fruit or soft yellowish wood of such a tree

Word History and Origins

Origin of hackberry¹

1775–85, Americanism; variant of hagberry (of Scandinavian origin)

Word History and Origins

Origin of hackberry¹

C18: variant of C16 hagberry, of Scandinavian origin; compare Old Norse heggr hackberry

Example Sentences

Over three decades, neighborhood foresters have transformed Dunbar Spring’s bald curbsides into lush forests of mesquite, hackberry, cholla and prickly pear cactus and more—all plants that have edible parts.

From Salon

Here grow maple, oak, hickory, cottonwood, sycamore, river birch, hackberry, fronds bowed under climbing English ivy, with winter creeper spreading underfoot.

From New York Times

Standing beside the hackberry shrubs with hundreds of empty desiccated cocoons still clinging to their branches and a carpet of butterfly corpses under her feet, La Llorona did not look anything like a malevolent specter.

From Literature

Ms. Brown urged residents concerned about the caterpillars stripping their hackberry and pecan trees of leaves not to worry.

From Washington Times

Todd’s tee shot had flown left and come to rest against the trunk of a hackberry tree.

From Golf Digest