GOOSEBERRIES
Noun
gooseberries
plural of gooseberry
Source: Wiktionary
GOOSEBERRY
Goose"ber*ry, n.; pl. Gooseberries, Etym: [Corrupted for groseberry
or groiseberry, fr. OF. groisele, F. groseille, -- of German origin;
cf. G. krausbeere, kräuselbeere (fr. kraus crisp), D. kruisbes,
kruisbezie (as if crossberry, fr. kruis cross; for kroesbes,
kroesbezie, fr. kroes crisp), Sw. krusbär (fr. krus, krusing, crisp).
The first part of the word is perh. akin to E. curl. Cf. Grossular,
a.]
1. (Bot.)
Definition: Any thorny shrub of the genus Ribes; also, the edible berries
of such shrub. There are several species, of which Ribes Grossularia
is the one commonly cultivated.
2. A silly person; a goose cap. Goldsmith. Barbadoes gooseberry, a
climbing prickly shrub (Pereskia aculeata) of the West Indies, which
bears edible berries resembling gooseberries.
– Coromandel gooseberry. See Carambola.
– Gooseberry fool. See lst Fool.
– Gooseberry worm (Zoöl.), the larva of a small moth (Dakruma
convolutella). It destroys the gooseberry by eating the interior.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition