bilberry Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun erect European blueberry having solitary flowers and blue-black berries
    whinberry; blaeberry; Viccinium myrtillus; whortleberry.
  2. noun erect blueberry of western United States having solitary flowers and somewhat sour berries
    Viccinium membranaceum; thin-leaved bilberry; mountain blue berry.
  3. noun blue-black berries similar to American blueberries
    European blueberry; whortleberry.

WordNet

Bil"ber*ry noun
Etymology
Cf. Dan. böllebær bilberry, where bölle is perh. akin to E. ball.
Wordforms
plural Bilberries
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) The European whortleberry (Vaccinium myrtillus); also, its edible bluish black fruit.
    There pinch the maids as blue as bilberry. Shak.
  2. (Bot.) Any similar plant or its fruit; esp., in America, the species Vaccinium myrtilloides, V. cæspitosum and V. uliginosum.

Webster 1913