Definition of barberry
: any of a genus (Berberis of the family Berberidaceae, the barberry family) of shrubs usually having spines, usually yellow flowers, and oblong red or blackish berries
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Recent Examples of barberry from the Web
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Rose Glow’ variegated Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii f. atropurpurea): Dramatic deciduous shrub that unfolds new growth of deep burgundy leaves splashed with pink and cream.
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The five-course prix-fixe menu starts with kuku sabzi, a labor-intensive dish that involves a garden's worth of fresh herbs, eggs, walnuts and barberries.
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Anything with thorns or a strong scent, like barberry or herbs, are usually unappealing.
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Depending on your family’s traditions, zereshk, dried barberries that are quite sour, and walnuts can be added.
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Garden Invasives: Eurasian bush honeysuckle, Japanese knotweed, Japanese barberry, burning bush, haveart bishop’s goutweed and purple loosestrife.
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Three other sterile barberry varieties that are being grown by wholesalers for later sale are a super compact cultivar with yellow foliage, and two compact shrubs, one with yellow and the other with green foliage.
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UConn horticulture professor Mark Brand devoted 15 years to creating a seedless, and therefore sterile, version of barberry.
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Brand believes his sterile barberry will be the first one to make it to market.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'barberry.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of barberry
Middle English berberie, from Medieval Latin berberis, from Arabic barbārīs
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First Known Use: 14th century
in the meaning defined above
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Learn More about barberry
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See words that rhyme with barberry Nglish: Translation of barberry for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about barberry
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