'Barbadoes gooseberry' definitions:

Definition of 'Barbadoes gooseberry'

From: GCIDE
  • Gooseberry \Goose"ber*ry\, n.; pl. Gooseberries, [Corrupted for groseberry or groiseberry, fr. OF. groisele, F. groseille, -- of German origin; cf. G. krausbeere, kr[aum]uselbeere (fr. kraus crisp), D. kruisbes, kruisbezie (as if crossberry, fr. kruis cross; for kroesbes, kroesbezie, fr. kroes crisp), Sw. krusb[aum]r (fr. krus, krusing, crisp). The first part of the word is perh. akin to E. curl. Cf. Grossular, a.]
  • 1. (Bot.) 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. [1913 Webster]
  • 2. A silly person; a goose cap. --Goldsmith. [1913 Webster]
  • 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 1st Fool.
  • Gooseberry worm (Zool.), the larva of a small moth (Dakruma convolutella). It destroys the gooseberry by eating the interior. [1913 Webster]

Words containing 'Barbadoes gooseberry'