Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Gooseberry \Goose"ber*ry\, n.; pl. {Gooseberries}, [Corrupted
   for groseberry or groiseberry, fr. OF. groisele, F.
   groseille, -- of German origin; cf. G. krausbeere,
   kr["a]uselbeere (fr. kraus crisp), D. kruisbes, kruisbezie
   (as if crossberry, fr. kruis cross; for kroesbes, kroesbezie,
   fr. kroes crisp), Sw. krusb["a]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.

   2. A silly person; a goose cap. --Goldsmith.

   {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 lst {Fool}.

   {Gooseberry worm} (Zo["o]l.), the larva of a small moth
      ({Dakruma convolutella}). It destroys the gooseberry by
      eating the interior.