Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun Any of several serviceberries, especially Amelanchier alnifolia of western North America.
  • noun The fruit of any of these plants.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Canadian Prairies A shrub inhabiting western North America, Amelanchier alnifolia.
  • noun Canadian Prairies The edible berry of this shrub.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[From Cree misaaskwatoomin, saskatoon berry.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Cree ᒥᓵᐢᑲᐧᑑᒥᐣ (misa˙skwato˙min, "saskatoon berry"), from ᒥᓵᐢᑲᐧᐟ (misâskwat, "saskatoon") + -min ("berry").

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Examples

  • There's a neat little place called saskatoon berry

    Time Immortal 2008

  • There may be many local or regional exceptions, such as saskatoon itself: if it were not also the name of a city, it is doubtful whether the word would be often heard outside the berry's prairie habitat.

    VERBATIM: The Language Quarterly Vol VII No 4 1981

  • August 6, 2008 at 6:32 pm saskatoon topppa da mark uvver places v…

    Gas prices - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2008

  • Avril, i love both ur c.ds and i have all ur posters and u have the most beautiful voice! ur so fucken awsome! i dont know why some people hate u, guess it because u got it all! i love u Avie, plz come to saskatoon saskatchewan, i want to see u in concert! i love u! rock out!

    REVIEW: Avril Lavigne’s new album “Under My Skin” 2004

  • You may not have been aware that the saskatoon is to berries as the Cohiba is to cigars.

    Brussels to the Rescue? Serf 2004

  • You may not have been aware that the saskatoon is to berries as the Cohiba is to cigars.

    Archive 2004-12-01 Serf 2004

  • As he moved away, free of step and straight as an Indian, he filliped away a small budding twig of the saskatoon which one of the youths had brought in to show how the woods were answering the call of the warm sun, and which he had dandled in his fingers as he walked.

    The Maid of the Whispering Hills

  • He had twirled in his fingers the first little spray of the saskatoon, brought in by Henri Corlier to show how the woods were answering the call of the spring.

    The Maid of the Whispering Hills

  • It was a dried spray of the blossoms of the saskatoon.

    The Maid of the Whispering Hills

  • Berries of the saskatoon were ripening and falling;

    Trail-Makers 1919

Comments

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  • Canadian name of the shrub or small tree Amelanchier canadensis (var. alnifolia), and its fruit, also called June-berry, shad-berry, and service-berry.

    February 5, 2007

  • Is this word related to Saskatchewan?

    February 6, 2007

  • That's a good question. The OED gives the etymology of saskatoon as being from the Cree words "misâskwatomin" (the shrub) (for which it cites Lacombe, Dictionarie de la langue des Cris), and "misâskwat" (the berry).

    The OED (at least the online version) does not list "Saskatchewan" (probably because it's proper?), but is clearly a Canadian/Native Canadian place name. One might surmise that both terms at least came from a similar root language, if not that one term came from the other. And there endeth my minimal knowledge, so if someone else knows, have at it!

    February 6, 2007