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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Currant \Cur"rant\ (k?r"rant), noun [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 {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} (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} ({Ribes aureum}), having showy yellow flowers.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
currant
noun
1: any of several tart red or black berries used primarily for jellies and jams
2: any of various deciduous shrubs of the genus Ribes bearing currants [syn: {currant bush}]
3: small dried seedless raisin grown in the Mediterranean region and California; used in cooking
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