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From: jeff@rtech.ARPA (Jeff Lichtman)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: tuna fish (actually re gooseberries)
Message-ID: <318@rtech.ARPA>
Date: Fri, 26-Apr-85 01:42:02 EDT
Article-I.D.: rtech.318
Posted: Fri Apr 26 01:42:02 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 29-Apr-85 00:25:11 EDT
References: <2550@drutx.UUCP> <395@ihu1m.UUCP> <2373@mit-hermes.ARPA>
Organization: Relational Technology, Berkeley CA
Lines: 29

> 
> I'm no Kiwi, (but I once had a girlfriend who was), but the so-called kiwi
> fruit was renamed in New Zealand for base commercial reasons. Its original
> English name was "Chinese gooseberry", and it is indeed a native of 
> China, not New Zealand. Now, how many Americans know what a gooseberry 
> looks/tastes like? (A large sour grape with bristles on it. Delicious in
> pies.)
> 
> 	John Purbrick ...decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!mit-hermes!jpexg

Gooseberries are not grapes.  They are closely related to currants.  Both
currants and gooseberries are members of the genus "Ribes."  There is a type
of small raisin called a "currant," but this is a red herring: the name is a
corruption of "Corinth," which is the place the grapes were originally
grown.

Does anyone have a theory on the etymology of "gooseberry".  Webster's 2nd
says: "goose + berry; or perhaps altered from some older form; cf. F.
groseille, G. krausberre, krauselbeere, D. kruisbes, kruisbezie."  This
isn't much help to me; I don't know the meanings of the foreign words.  It's
possible that "gooseberry" is a corruption of one of the given words.
On the other hand, it could be that the words literally translate as
"goose berry."  Can anyone help?
-- 
Jeff Lichtman at rtech (Relational Technology, Inc.)
aka Swazoo Koolak

{amdahl, sun}!rtech!jeff
{ucbvax, decvax}!mtxinu!rtech!jeff