From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [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]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
gooseberry
n 1: spiny Eurasian shrub having greenish purple-tinged flowers
and ovoid yellow-green or red-purple berries [syn:
{gooseberry}, {gooseberry bush}, {Ribes uva-crispa}, {Ribes
grossularia}]
2: currant-like berry used primarily in jams and jellies
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