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.]
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1. A small kind of seedless raisin, imported from the Levant,
chiefly from Zante and Cephalonia; -- used in cookery.
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2. The acid fruit or berry of the Ribes rubrum or common
red currant, or of its variety, the white currant.
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3. (Bot.) A shrub or bush of several species of the genus
Ribes (a genus also including the gooseberry); esp., the
Ribes rubrum.
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Black currant,a shrub or bush (Ribes nigrum and Ribes
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 (Zool.), 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 (Zool.), 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
(Ribes aureum), having showy yellow flowers.
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