Emily Dickinson Lexicon

GOOSE'BER-RY, n. [goos'berry. In Ger. kräuselbeere, from kraus, crisp; D. kruisbes, from kruis, a cross; L. grossula; W. grwys, from rhwys, luxuriant. The English word is undoubtedly corrupted from crossberry, grossberry, or gorseberry; a name taken from the roughness of the shrub. See Cross and Gross.]

The fruit of a shrub, and the shrub itself, the Ribes grossularia. The shrub is armed with spines. Of the fruit there are several varieties. The South American gooseberry belongs to the genus Melastoma, and the West Indian gooseberry to the genus Cactus. – Lee.