sloe

plural sloes

1. The small, astringent, wild fruit of the blackthorn (Prunus spinosa).

   There is also a dryness in the mouth from the increased action of the absorbent vessels, when a sloe or a crab-apple are masticated...

   1796, Erasmus Darwin, Zoonomia, or, the Laws of Organic Life, part II.I.I.III

   2 more examples

   The dew-drops fell like water, leaf after leaf dropped from the trees, the sloe-thorn alone still bore fruit, but the sloes were sour, and set the teeth on edge. Oh, how dark and weary the whole world appeared!

   1872, The Snow Queen by H. C. Andersen, translation by Paull

   Katúsha, with her eyes black as sloes, her face radiant with joy, was flying towards him, and they caught hold of each other's hands.

   1900, Leo Tolstoy, “Twelve Years before”, in Louise Maude, transl., Resurrection: A Novel, New York, N.Y.: Dodd, Mead & Company, →OCLC, book I, page 46

2. The tree Prunus spinosa.
3. Any of various other plants of the genus Prunus, as a shrub or small tree, Prunus alleghaniensis, bearing dark-purple fruit.