strawberry

English strawberry comes from Old English strēawberġe, a compound of strēaw (straw) and berġe (berry), passing through Middle English strawberie into modern English.

Two explanations for the compound survive: one holds that wild strawberries grow on runners resembling straw, while the other points to the old practice of gathering them by threading them onto a straw or stalk.

Norwegian stråbær shows a similar straw-based name, though it refers to cranberries, plants that spread the same low, straw-like way.