ETYM Corrupted for groseberry or groiseberry, from Old Fren. groisele, French groseille, -- of German origin.
1. Currant-like berry used primarily in jams and jellies.
2. Spiny Eurasian shrub having greenish purple-tinged flowers and ovoid yellow-green or red-purple berries; SYN. gooseberry bush, Ribes uva-crispa, Ribes grossularia.
Several prickly shrubs of the genus Ribes in the saxifrage family, native to Eurasia and North America, and closely related to currants in the same genus. The fleshy, red, blackish or green fruits are edible. The pasture gooseberry R. cyanosbati is native to North America. The European gooseberry R. Grossalaria is cultivated in gardens.