The absence of a Celtic or Germanic name for the cherry indicates that the tree was not native to north-west Europe; the Old English word ciris or cirse, found only in compounds like cirisbeam, meaning ‘cherry tree’, was replaced in Middle English by cherie, adopted from the Anglo-Norman and Old French cherise. It is thought that cherie was constructed as a singular from the mistaken idea that cherise was plural.
from Discovering Words in the Kitchen.
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