Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. Any of various shrubby, usually prickly plants of the genus Rubus in the rose family, such as R. idaeus var. strigosus of eastern North America and R. idaeus of Europe, that bear edible fruit.
- n. The aggregate fruit of any of these plants, consisting of many small, fleshy, usually red drupelets.
- n. A moderate to dark or deep purplish red.
- n. Slang A derisive or contemptuous sound made by vibrating the extended tongue and the lips while exhaling.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The fruit of several plants of the genus Rubus, consisting of many small juicy grains or drupes, which, unlike those of the blackberry, separate from the convex receptacle together when ripe, thus giving the fruit the shape of a thimble. Besides its extensive use us a dessert fruit, the raspberry is used for jellies and jam, and its juice for flavoring, for cooling drinks, and in wines and brandies.
- n. The plant that produces this berry. The common garden raspberry, the first of the name, is Rubus Idæus, a native of Europe and Asiatic Russia—a shrub with perennial creeping rootstock, nearly erect, prickly, biennial stems, and a red pleasant fruit. It was cultivated by the Ramans in the fourth century, and is the source of the best raspberries, affording many varieties, some of them yellow-fruited. The wild red raspberry, R. strigosus, of North America, is a very similar plant, but not quite so tall, the leaves being thinner, and the fruit not so firm, large, or well-flavored. It is common northward, especially on newly cleared grounds, and its fruit is much gathered; while under cultivation it has yielded several good varieties. The black raspberry, thimbleberry, or blackcap is the American R. occidentalis, a shrub with long recurved biennial stems, rooting at the tips, and a black fruit. It is very productive with little care, and affords good garden varieties.
- n. In Tasmania, a native species, Rubus Gunnianus, peculiar to the country.
Wiktionary
- n. The plant Rubus idaeus.
- n. The juicy, dark red (when ripe) composite fruit of this plant.
- n. A dark pinkish red, the colour of a ripe raspberry.
- adj. Containing or having the flavor/flavour of raspberries.
- adj. Of a dark pinkish red.
- v. To gather or forage for raspberries.
- n. pejorative, colloquial A noise intended to imitate the passing of flatulence, made by blowing air out of the mouth while the tongue is protruding from and pressed against the lips, or by blowing air through the lips while they are pressed firmly together or against skin, used humorously or to express derision.
- v. colloquial To make the noise intended to imitate the passing of flatulence.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The thimble-shaped fruit of the Rubus Idæus and other similar brambles.
- n. The shrub bearing this fruit.
WordNet 3.0
- n. red or black edible aggregate berries usually smaller than the related blackberries
- n. a cry or noise made to express displeasure or contempt
- n. woody brambles bearing usually red but sometimes black or yellow fruits that separate from the receptacle when ripe and are rounder and smaller than blackberries
Etymologies
- Cockney rhyming slang raspberry tart, for fart. However raspberry is rarely used for a fart, merely a noise which imitates it. (Wiktionary)
- Obsolete raspis, raspberry + berry. Sense 4, possibly short for raspberry tart, rhyming slang for fart. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“The term raspberry is used in its irreverent sense, as in "blowing a raspberry".”
“I contemplate buying a cattery (less bending than blueberries. though a raspberry is an awesome sounding alternative idea) on a regular basis, with a friend of mine who also has a stressful job and likes cats.”
“My recently-watched personal pick for a flaming raspberry is The Core.”
“Ace of Spades Headlines has already used the ‘tar, feathers, and pitchforks’ joke, so let me go to my backup response: if the 111th Congress raises the average price of gas to seven bucks a gallon, the major result will be that the 2010 Election Night map will give the impression that the entire country was dipped in raspberry jam.”
Harvard: Erm, that WH policy means tripling the price of gas. | RedState
“White chocolate and raspberry is another flavour combination made in heaven.”
“Definitely chocolate marble although anything with raspberry is a close second.”
“I think pumpkin cheesecake would be my favorite for these pans but white chocolate raspberry is probably my all time favorite flavor.”
“The flavoured yoghurts are available in raspberry, strawberry and a natural variety, and have been developed for consumers that are lactose intolerant, the company said today (27 November).”
“Greetings, chocolate and raspberry is one of my all time favorite combos.”
“To face Freddie and confess that any girl in the world had given him, Derek Underhill, what he coarsely termed the raspberry was a task so revolting as to be utterly beyond his powers.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘raspberry’.
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Reds
crimson, blood, scarlet, rott, rojo, brick, fire engine, vermilion, carmine, burgundy, amaranth, alizarin and 115 more...
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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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Genes
Interesting gene names. Some of these may have changed recently (to something less offensive/funny).
http://www.genenames.org/
tinman, agnostic, dreadlocks, Van Gogh, fruitless, lava lamp, ariadne, cheap date, ken and barbie, I'm not dead yet, I'm not dead yet 2, manic fringe and 1192 more... -
food collection
bread, peel, pot, chorizo, Filet, olive, fill, Phyllo, dough, bake, mat, pinot and 988 more...
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Flora
Flowers and plants have some of the most beautiful names.
These are often the common names, as opposed to the scientific or botanical names.daffodil, gardenia, tulip, snapdragon, violet, orchid, bleeding heart, daisy, lily, lilac, narcissus, rose and 278 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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Red
ruby, crimson, maroon, lava, fiery, rosewood, scarlet, rose, auburn, apple, blood, flaming and 10 more...
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Fruits
orange, banana, lime, lemon, pineapple, apple, papaya, blueberry, mulberry, cranberry, pear, raspberry and 16 more...
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Lord of the Pies
Pastry words anyone?
crust, starry gazey pie, oven, pan, apple, blueberry, rhubarb, key lime, pumpkin, dough, flour, cherpumple and 17 more...
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Jams, Jellies, and Preserves
I've thought of a few of the most common sorts. Additions sought.
traffic, door, toe, fish, wildlife, bean, strawberry, apricot, raspberry, blackberry, boysenberry, grape and 51 more...
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Purr words
Please add one snarl word for every purr word, in the interests of harmony.
Note: this list is for purr words. Snarl words belong on the other list, not this one. Only purr words need ...bumblebee, kitten, hummingbird, turtledove, felt, daffodil, hourglass, surf, satyr, gloved, honeyed, raspberry and 9 more...
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♥
ambrosia, inamorata, gossamer, lily-white, hummingbird, roucoulement, poppy, daisy, calypso, lunula, lamb, dove and 1526 more...
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Colors
Words for colors, including things so associated with a color that they can be used in reference to a color.
red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet, purple, navy, lavender, turquoise, chartreuse and 218 more...
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Foodie
As much fun to say as they are to eat.
blueberry, cider, almond, apricot, asparagus, banana, fudge, foldover, flapjacks, filbert, fig, biscuit and 217 more...
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Words I Know
List of most of the words I've learned
garner, abase, abate, abdicate, abduct, aberration, abet, abhor, abide, abject, abjure, abnegation and 1046 more...
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The Sog Collection
My big word list.
chaos, flaccid, empirical, flotsam, cacophony, grumble, assuage, awe, romance, mortality, coalesce, fortuitous and 3282 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for raspberry.

likeflannel the colour i just dyed my old shoes. Dec 8, 2009
oroboros See ethyl formate. Apr 25, 2009
rolig One of the few words in English that, phonologically, displays retrograde assimilation with regard to voicing, i.e. the voicedness of the b turns the s into a z. The only other word I can think of offhand is a proper noun: Pabst, where the voicelessness of the st affects the b. Dec 7, 2007
trivet heaven! Jul 12, 2007