Middle English strauberi, used of the plant or its “fruit,” from Old English streawberige, streaberie. There is no corresponding compound in other Germanic languages; the reason for the name is uncertain, but perhaps it is in reference to the tiny chaff-like external seeds which cover the fruit.
In Sweden, we DO have a corresponding compound: Stråbär (literally straw-berry). We call them this because you pick them by hand and stick them on a straw, then you eat them off of the straw like a BBQ skewer. This is specifically for wild strawberries (smultron), which are smaller than domesticated strawberries.
Went ahead and cut the line from the strawberry entry. You don’t happen to know any very old Swedish uses of this word, do you? (Very old like before 1600)
Interesting, but I have another etymology for strawberry, it’s because they are grown on straw. Straw is placed under and around the plants to keep the fruits off the wet earth and help protect them from snails and woodlice. I’ve never read this, I simply assumed that was the reason.
