Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The small, edible, purplish-black fruit of the common American elder (Sambucus canadensis), sometimes used to make wine or preserves.
- n. A shrub or tree that bears elderberries.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The purplish-black drupaceous fruit of the elder, Sambucus nigra and S. Canadensis, having an acidulous and sweetish taste, and used for making a kind of wine. The inspissated juice is employed as an aperient and a diuretic.
Wiktionary
- n. elder; a shrub or tree of the genus Sambucus
- n. the small, edible, purplish-black fruit of this plant used in cooking and to flavour drinks etc
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Bot.) The berrylike drupe of the elder. That of the Old World elder (Sambucus nigra) and that of the American sweet elder (S. Canadensis) are sweetish acid, and are eaten as a berry or made into wines or jellies.
- n. the European variety of elder (see 3rd elder), a common black-fruited shrub or small tree of Europe and Asia; the fruit is used for wines and jellies.
WordNet 3.0
- n. berrylike fruit of an elder used for e.g. wines and jellies
- n. a common shrub with black fruit or a small tree of Europe and Asia; fruit used for wines and jellies
Examples
“The brilliant yellow foliage of the Amsonia combined with the dark foliage of the elderberry is a knock-out combination.”
Amsonia hubrichtii: 2011 Perennial Plant of the Year « Sugar Creek Gardens’ Blog
“Dixon-Cravens is also a fan of elderberry, which is the active ingredient in GNC's new ViraBloc lozenges.”
“There were 2 types of jam, one that looked like blueberry and the other looked like figs. I went for the blueberry (later found out it is called elderberry) jam as that seemed to be the popular one.”
“Did you perhaps go to medline and type the words "elderberry" and "H1N1"?”
“I would make a dish that includes four ofIllinois' greatest wild ingredients: Whitetail venison tenderloin with morel mushrooms and ramps, dressed with an elderberry gastrique.”
“I would make a dish that includes four ofÂIllinois' greatest wild ingredients: Whitetail venison tenderloin with morel mushrooms and ramps, dressed with an elderberry gastrique.”
“We eat cakes made of elderberry, elk fat, ashes and nettle.”
“Police have broken down doors, screamed obscenities, and held innocent people at gunpoint only to discover that what they thought were marijuana plants were really sunflowers, hibiscus, ragweed, tomatoes, or elderberry bushes.”
The Huffington Post: John W. Whitehead: The War on Drugs Has Become the War on the American People
“The 20,000-square-foot spa also uses local, antioxidant-rich wild elderberries and elderberry flowers in facials, and grows heirloom-variety herbs that are incorporated into services.$145 for 50 minutes, $190 for 80 minutes, osthoff.com”
“Add salt and vinegar from the elderberry capers until highly seasoned and continue to add oil until the emulsion becomes thick.”
The Wall Street Journal: A New Movement as British as Roast Beef
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘elderberry’.
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CULI - wine-tasting adjectives
In this area of expertise nouns are frequently used as adjectives (almond, bacon, cider, diesel, fennel, fresh-cut hay, wool) or new adjectives are formed (appley, berrylike, citrusy, full-bodied, ...
acetic, acidic, aged, angular, appley, astringent, attractive, austere, berrylike, big, bitter, brawny and 511 more...
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Berry Me Deep In Love
Different kinds of berries. In particular it's a list of those with -berry in the name, regardless of whether they are true berries or not. According to Schlockipedia, the botanical class of berrie...
cloudberry, juneberry, whortleberry, goldenberry, apple serviceberry, allegheny shadberry, loganberry, lingonberry, huckleberry, juniper berry, blackberry, mulberry and 74 more...
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reginaterra's Words
purl, blow, squish, andean, generality, adaptation, lush, pack, filter, acquiesce, abstraction, sweet and 508 more...
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the gardener and apothecary's
bryony, chamomile, frond, sweet bay, laurel, monkshood, henbane, hemlock, parsley, rosemary, thyme, lady's mantle and 140 more...
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Trees!
mahogany, sequoia, balsa, sandalwood, tamarind, balsam, eucalyptus, birch, willow, buttonwood, evergreen, loblolly and 501 more...
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listu
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Chromonyms
These chromonyms are defined as colors in at least one dictionary (mostly MW3). (Actually there's one fake, for reasons I'll explain someday.) They are all one-word nouns such as "kelly", which can...
absinthe, acacia, acorn, alabaster, alesan, almond, aloma, amaranth, amber, amethyst, anemone, anil and 821 more...
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Fruits I Know Of
A bunch of fruits.
banana, orange, oranges, pineapple, grapefruit, apple, pear, peach, breadfruit, melon, papaya, elderberry and 3 more...
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habitat
Transforming our yard into a place for living things. The list and the yard will grow in tandem. I will add only as I plant (or discover volunteers).
serviceberry, elderberry, pagoda dogwood, american hazelnut, wild bergamot, spiderwort, rattlesnake master, crabapple, ostrich fern, echinacea, woodland phlox, river birch and 41 more...
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Words Covered in Faery Dust (E)
words that evoke magic, mystery, mayhem, magnificence or anything else that glimmers in the grass
earthwork, easter egg, ebony, eclair, eclipse, effervescence, effigy, egret, elegant, elixir, ellipse, elude and 52 more...
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Blue remembered hills
Flora, fauna and other things common in the time and place where I grew up
millipede, dock leaf, snowdrop, nettle, ragwort, oxeye, moss, bindweed, lichen, hay, forget-me-not, bluebell and 62 more...
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Herbalist
apothecary, decoction, rosehip, bergamot, nettle, tincture, meadowsweet, elderberry, fermentation, echinacea, glycerite, ayurveda
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Fruity words
All fruits are not created equal. Nor are all words for fruits. These are my favorite fruit words and not necessarily my favorite fruits!
pomegranate, pome, pomelo, kiwi, rambutan, tomato, breadfruit, durian, tangerine, raspberry, huckleberry, elderberry and 5 more...
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bunch of fruits
I like fruit. And I like the names of fruits – well, of these fruits at least.
persimmon, kaki, pomegranate, apple, pear, peach, fig, date, grapefruit, orange, banana, japanese persimmon and 39 more...
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Names and kinds of fruit
A list made in honor of my son, who likes to eat it. A lot. Today he's had blueberries, apples, bananas, and watermelon, and that was just in his first two hours awake. Limited to fruit I could thi...
apple, banana, watermelon, orange, grape, blueberry, papaya, mango, nectarine, peach, grapefruit, pomelo and 56 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for elderberry.

hernesheir After kayaking today I picked a few pounds of elderberries. The juice extractor reduced these to 2.5 quarts of pure mountain goodness. Tomorrow I'll make a little pancake syrup and some jelly. Aug 30, 2011
thesuperiorbeing "Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!"
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail Feb 23, 2008