# gooseberry

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɡusˌbɛɹi/ · frequency rank #51,143

## Definitions
1. A fruit of species Ribes uva-crispa, related to the currant.
2. Any other plant or fruit in the subgenus Grossularia, distinguished from currants by bearing spines, including Ribes hirtellum (American gooseberry).
3. Any of several other plants that are not closely related but bear fruit in some way similar:
4. Any of several other plants that are not closely related but bear fruit in some way similar:
5. Any of several other plants that are not closely related but bear fruit in some way similar:
6. Any of several other plants that are not closely related but bear fruit in some way similar:
7. Any of several other plants that are not closely related but bear fruit in some way similar:
8. Any of several other plants that are not closely related but bear fruit in some way similar:
9. Any of several other plants that are not closely related but bear fruit in some way similar:
10. Any of several other plants that are not closely related but bear fruit in some way similar:
11. Any of several other plants that are not closely related but bear fruit in some way similar:
12. Any of several other plants that are not closely related but bear fruit in some way similar:
13. Any of several other plants that are not closely related but bear fruit in some way similar:
14. A chaperone.
15. An additional person who is neither necessary nor wanted in a given situation.
16. A fool.
17. A fantastic story; a tall tale; a hoax.
18. A testicle.

## Etymology
From goose + berry. It is possible that the first element was originally something related to the gros- of French groseille and/or the kruis- of Dutch kruisbes but has been altered by folk etymology.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/gooseberry