Meanings
plural skokeberries · alternative skoke berry
- USA pokeberry or pokeweed plant (Phytolacca americana) or its dark red or purple fruit.
Synonyms: the list at pokeweed
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA pokeberry or pokeweed plant (Phytolacca americana) or its dark red or purple fruit.
Origin
Perhaps a half-translation of an Algonquian term for "red berry" (compare Abenaki mkw-, mskw- (“red”)), in reference to the berries' red colour. Alternatively, perhaps a half-translation of an Algonquian term such as Penobscot *skokimin (“snake berry”), in reference to the fact that the plant is poisonous. Compare scoke.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
skokeberry. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skokeberry
“skokeberry.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skokeberry. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “skokeberry,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skokeberry.
Source: skokeberry on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.