Etymology

Perhaps a half-translation of an Algonquian term for "red berry" (compare Abenaki mkw-, mskw- ‎(“red”)), in reference to the berries' red colour. Alternatively, perhaps a half-translation of an Algonquian term such as Penobscot *skokimin ‎(“snake berry”), in reference to the fact that the plant is poisonous. Compare scoke.^[1]