barberry
/ˈbɑɹbɛɹi/
"barberry" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“barberry” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 8
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Any of the thorny shrubs of genus Berberis, which bear yellow flowers and red or blue-black berries.
Corpus desk
Index EN-barberry · barberry · English
barberry · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 8 letters
- VOW-3 3 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "B" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | barberry |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Noun |
| IPA | /ˈbɑɹbɛɹi/ |
| Letters | 8 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “barberry” in English
Rare enough to double-check
barberry is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed /ˈbɑɹbɛɹi/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
barberry doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. This headword has no recorded confusable partner, suggesting its spelling stands apart enough that readers rarely confuse it with something else.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English berberie, from Medieval Latin berberis (on which see Arabic بَرْبَارِيس (barbārīs)), influenced by berie (“berry”). Doublet of berberis and related to Berber. The correct English form is barberry, spelled B-A-R-B-E-R-R-Y.
Definition
- 1Any of the thorny shrubs of genus Berberis, which bear yellow flowers and red or blue-black berries.
- 2The edible fruit of these shrubs.
Recorded use
Wiktionary exampleThese source excerpts show how barberry appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
BOlvs in Engliſh is called a morſell. It is a medicine laxatiue, in forme & faſhion it is meanely whole, & it is ſwallowed by litle gobbets. […] ℞. medulla caſiæ fiſtulæ newly drawen. ℥. j. or ʒ. x. the graines (that is the kernelles) of barbaries. ℈. ß. and with ſugar roſet [sugar compounded with rose petals] make a bole.
Etymology
From Middle English berberie, from Medieval Latin berberis (on which see Arabic بَرْبَارِيس (barbārīs)), influenced by berie (“berry”). Doublet of berberis and related to Berber.
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.