Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun Any of various deciduous, spineless shrubs of the genus Ribes, native chiefly to the Northern Hemisphere and having flowers in racemes and edible red, black, or white berries.
- noun The fruits of any of these plants, used for jams, jellies, desserts, or beverages.
- noun A small seedless raisin of the Mediterranean region, used chiefly in baking.
- noun Any of several other plants or their fruit.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A very small kind of raisin or dried grape imported from the Levant, chiefly from Zante and Cephalonia, and used in cookery.
- noun The small round fruit (a berry) of several species of Ribes, natural order Saxifragaceæ; the plant producing this fruit: so called because the berries resemble in size the small grapes from the Levant.
- noun In Australia and Tasmania, a species of Leucopogon, especially
- noun A name for various melastomaceous species of tropical America, bearing edible berries, especially of the genera
- noun An obsolete spelling of
current and courant.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A small kind of seedless raisin, imported from the Levant, chiefly from Zante and Cephalonia; -- used in cookery.
- noun The acid fruit or berry of the
Ribes rubrum or common red currant, or of its variety, the white currant. - noun (Bot.) A shrub or bush of several species of the genus Ribes (a genus also including the gooseberry); esp., the
Ribes rubrum . - noun a shrub or bush (
Ribes nigrum andRibes floridum ) and its black, strong-flavored, tonic fruit. - noun a variety of the red currant, having a strong, symmetrical bush and a very large berry.
- noun (Zoöl.) the larva of an insect that bores into the pith and kills currant bushes; specif., the larvae of a small clearwing moth (
Ægeria tipuliformis ) and a longicorn beetle (Psenocerus supernotatus ). - noun (Zoöl.) 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). - noun a species of Ribes (
Ribes aureum ), having showy yellow flowers.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A small dried
grape , usually the Black Corinth grape, rarely more than 4mm diameter when dried. - noun The fruit of various shrubs of the genus Ribes, either white, black or red.
- noun A
shrub bearing such fruit.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun any of several tart red or black berries used primarily for jellies and jams
- noun any of various deciduous shrubs of the genus Ribes bearing currants
- noun small dried seedless raisin grown in the Mediterranean region and California; used in cooking
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
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Examples
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The white bordered by the red currant is also down the side of the chest of the shirt.
Archive 2009-09-01 Azmie aka switch image 2009
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The white bordered by the red currant is also down the side of the chest of the shirt.
Arsenal 2008-10 home kits Azmie aka switch image 2009
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Mr. Red House made a speech after dinner, and said drink to the health of everybody, one after the other, in currant wine, which was done, beginning with Mrs. Bax and ending with H.O. Then he said –
New Treasure Seekers Edith 1925
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I 'm sure there 's nothing in currant jelly or tea to hurt you.
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Currants, by-the-bye, both black and red, are also native plants; the black currant is by no means rare in this State, and very much resembles the varieties cultivated in gardens; the wild red currant is chiefly confined to the northern parts of the country, and it is precisely like that which we cultivate.
Rural Hours 1887
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The currant is very hardy, and will grow in any soil or situation, even under the drip of trees.
The Lady's Country Companion: or, How to Enjoy a Country Life Rationally Jane 1845
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One stage of this disease is on the gooseberry or currant, that is, we find it now on the white pine and going to the gooseberry or currant.
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The most formidable of these is popularly known as the currant worm.
Success with Small Fruits Edward Payson Roe 1863
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Let it be taught at theological seminaries that the currant is a "means of grace."
The Home Acre Edward Payson Roe 1863
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The juice of the red species, if boiled with an equal weight of loaf sugar, forms an agreeable substance called currant jelly, much employed in sauces, and very valuable in the cure of sore throats and colds.
The Book of Household Management Isabella Mary 1861
qroqqa commented on the word currant
The name is from Corinth in Greece, and these were originally the dried grapes, and first called raisins of Corinth. In the sixteenth century the name was misapplied to the newly-introduced red and black kin of gooseberries. I am eating redcurrants as I type.
July 17, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word currant
That's fascinating. I had no idea. Currants are not hugely popular in the U.S. (at least with my homeys) but I don't really know why.
July 17, 2009
skipvia commented on the word currant
For some reason this post just made my day--maybe because I'm looking out over the wild currants growing in my back yard. We make jelly from them.
I love Wordie...
July 17, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word currant
Did you know they are named after Corinth, skip?
July 18, 2009
yarb commented on the word currant
Currant was still used to refer to raisins (there may have been a subtle difference) by some people of my parents' generation when I was a child. The fresh fruits were blackcurrants or redcurrants, never just currants.
July 18, 2009
skipvia commented on the word currant
No clue c_b. It was a delightful discovery. Thanks, groqqa.
July 18, 2009
skipvia commented on the word currant
A photo (20-Jul-09) of some currants from my back yard.
July 21, 2009
reesetee commented on the word currant
Yum! Wonderful!
July 21, 2009
PossibleUnderscore commented on the word currant
Wow, you can grow those in your garden? But I'm confused, what's the difference between grapes and currants?
July 21, 2009
skipvia commented on the word currant
They're wild currants. They grow all over in interior Alaska. As to the difference, it may be largely semantic. Check this article from Wikipedia. The ones pictured are redcurrant berries.
July 21, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word currant
Skip, that's a lovely picture. :)
July 21, 2009
plethora commented on the word currant
*le sigh*
I miss picking blackcurrants in summer.
July 21, 2009
chained_bear commented on the word currant
Me too, pleth, and I've never done it.
*pining for the fjords*
July 21, 2009
PossibleUnderscore commented on the word currant
Oh I see...thanks skip!
July 22, 2009
plethora commented on the word currant
My childhood backyard was home to more than 20 varieties of fruit. Currants are so much fun to pick and eat, even if the ladder is so rickety you fear for your life :D
July 22, 2009
ruzuzu commented on the word currant
Yesterday my Latvian neighbor called them Saint John's Day berries.
July 2, 2013