Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Currant \Cur"rant\ (k?r"rant), n. [F. corinthe (raisins de
   Corinthe raisins of Corinth) currant (in sense 1), from the
   city of Corinth in Greece, whence, probably, the small dried
   grape (1) was first imported, the Ribes fruit (2) receiving
   the name from its resemblance to that grape.]
   1. A small kind of seedless raisin, imported from the Levant,
      chiefly from Zante and Cephalonia; -- used in cookery.

   2. The acid fruit or berry of the {Ribes rubrum} or common
      red currant, or of its variety, the white currant.

   3. (Bot.) A shrub or bush of several species of the genus
      {Ribes} (a genus also including the gooseberry); esp., the
      {Ribes rubrum}.

   {Black currant},a shrub or bush ({Ribes nigrum} and {R.
      floridum}) and its black, strong-flavored, tonic fruit.

   {Cherry currant}, a variety of the red currant, having a
      strong, symmetrical bush and a very large berry.

   {Currant borer} (Zo["o]l.), the larva of an insect that bores
      into the pith and kills currant bushes; specif., the
      larvae of a small clearwing moth ({[AE]geria
      tipuliformis}) and a longicorn beetle ({Psenocerus
      supernotatus}).

   {Currant worm} (Zo["o]l.), an insect larva which eats the
      leaves or fruit of the currant. The most injurious are the
      currant sawfly ({Nematus ventricosus}), introduced from
      Europe, and the spanworm ({Eufitchia ribearia}). The fruit
      worms are the larva of a fly ({Epochra Canadensis}), and a
      spanworm ({Eupithecia}).

   {Flowering currant}, {Missouri currant}, a species of {Ribes}
      ({R. aureum}), having showy yellow flowers.