Etymology Dictionary

BARBERRY, BERBERRY,  a shrub.  (F.,—Arabic.)   Cotgrave has:  'Berberis, the barbarie-tree.'   The Eng. word is borrowed from French, which accounts for the loss of final s.   The M.E. barbaryn (Prompt. Parv.) is adjectival.—Low Lat. berberis, the name of the shrub.—Arab. barbáris, the barberry-tree; Richardson's Dict., p. 256.   Cf. Pers. barbarí, a barberry; Turkish barbarís, a gooseberry; ibid.   ¶ This is an excellent example of accommodated spelling; the change of the two final syllables into berry makes them significant, but leaves the first syllable meaningless.   The spelling berberry is the more logical, as answering to the French and Latin.   Berbery would be still better; the word cannot claim three r's.