Cherry Lost Its S to a Misunderstanding
A cherry is a small stone fruit. English created the singular by removing an S that was never a plural marker.
A cherry is a small stone fruit of the genus *Prunus*. The word arrived from Old North French as *cherise*, a singular. English speakers heard the final S as a plural, dropped it, and invented *cherry*. The same thing happened to *pea*, which was once *pease*, and to *sherry*, from Spanish *Xeres*.
- A small stone fruit. *A bowl of cherries.*
- The tree or its wood. *Polished cherry.*
- A bright red colour. *Cherry red.*
- Cherry-pick — to select only the best. *Cherry-picking the data.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | cherry | A ripe cherry. |
| Plural | cherries | Fresh cherries. |
| Adjective | cherry | Cherry blossom. |
| Verb | cherry-pick | Cherry-pick results. |
| Related | Prunus | The genus Prunus. |
How it is used in a sentence
- Life is not a bowl of cherries.Not easy or pleasant.
- He cherry-picked the evidence.Chose only what suited him.
- Cherry blossom season draws crowds.Especially in Japan.
Back-formed singulars
- cherry — from *cherise*
- pea — from *pease*, which was singular
- sherry — from *Xeres*, a Spanish place name
- burglar — from *burgle*, formed backwards from the noun
- edit — back-formed from *editor*
From Old North French *cherise*, from Latin *cerasium*, from Greek *kerasos*, the cherry tree.
What is back-formation?
Creating a new word by removing what looks like an affix. Cherry, pea and burgle all came about that way.
What does *cherry-picking* mean?
Selecting only the evidence that supports your case and ignoring the rest.