WordWeight : Weighing the Words

Pronunciation : Goose"ber*ry, n.; pl. Gooseberries
Etymology : [Corrupted for groseberry or groiseberry, fr. OF. groisele, F. groseille, -- of German origin; cf. G. krausbeere, kr?uselbeere (fr. kraus crisp), D. kruisbes, kruisbezie (as if crossberry, fr. kruis cross; for kroesbes, kroesbezie, fr. kroes crisp), Sw. k
Definition : 1. (Bot.)

Defn: 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 (Zo?l.), the larva of a small moth (Dakruma convolutella). It destroys the gooseberry by eating the interior.
Source : Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913