BARBERRIES. 



595 



and the asparagus of the botanist is the " sparrergrass " or 

 " sparrowgrass " of the marketman, so we may conclude that 

 the character of the barberry's fruit decided the change of name 

 referred to. 



The first syllable of the English name is, doubtless, as un- 

 meaning as the corresponding part of " crayfish," or its rival form 

 " crawfish." Perhaps in both these cases the lack of any signifi- 



Fio. 1. BERBERIS VCLGABIS. Part of a long shoot, showing four spines and as many short 

 branches bearing leaf rosettes. 



cance in the first part of the words may have favored the con- 

 tinuance of two forms side by side. 



Various conjectures have been offered as to the origin of the 

 mediaeval Latin barberis and berberis. Most commonly the Latin 

 name is said to be derived from the Arabic barbdrls or berbery 's ;* 

 but, according to Murray and the Century Dictionary, the Arabic 

 form and the Persian barbari are both derivatives of the Latin. 

 Wittstein f suggests a derivation from the Greek berberi, a mus- 

 sel, from the mussel-like form of the leaves. The conjecture 

 which assumes the plant to have been imported into Europe 



* Gray's Manual, sixth edition. 



f Etym. bot. Handworterbuch, 1856. 



