Estonian has many regional names for cloudberries and green strawberries

ERR’s Vikerraadio language segment, presented by Mari Kendla, explores the words for cloudberries and green strawberries in Estonian and its dialects.

The word murakas usually refers to the golden-yellow cloudberry (Rubus chamaemorus). It is of Uralic origin, placing it among the oldest layers of Estonian vocabulary. Regional names include kaarla in central Estonia; kaarma and kaarnal in western Estonia and on the larger islands; and kaarme in Saaremaa. In Kuusalu, people say muurakas or muuramine. Other dialect words for cloudberry include kaaber, käbal, lobjakas, molohk and murahk.

There are also specific words for a fully ripe cloudberry. Finnish uses lakka and hilla; the latter gave rise to ill, a Kuusalu dialect name for the berry.

The green strawberry (Fragaria viridis), known in Estonian as muulukas, is less familiar as both a plant and a berry. It resembles a wild strawberry, but its fruit is much sweeter. The word muulukas is a loan from Baltic German, making it a relatively recent addition to the language. Its many other names include mulgas, mulk, mullikas, muulikas, muusik, rämm and ränik. Compound names with murakas as the final element include arumurakas, maamurakas, metsmurakas and põldmurakas.

While muulukas came from Baltic German, Estonian murakas was borrowed into Baltic German, a relatively uncommon example of Estonian lending a word to that language. The segment closes with a seasonal note: berry season is over for this year, but next year people can go picking lobjakas and mullikas.