aeb@mcvax.UUCP (Andries Brouwer) (05/01/85)
In article <6403@boring.UUCP> lambert@boring.UUCP (Lambert Meertens) writes: > >> Does anyone have a theory on the etymology of "gooseberry". Webster's 2nd >> says: "goose + berry; or perhaps altered from some older form; cf. F. >> groseille, G. krausberre, krauselbeere, D. kruisbes, kruisbezie." This >> isn't much help to me; I don't know the meanings of the foreign words. > > French "groseille" is used also for currants (red or white); the gooseberry > variety is known as "groseille a` maquereau" (mackerel currant), for its > use in preparing a sauce to be served with mackerel. At least, according > to my edition of the Nouveau Petit Larousse Illustre'. The same source > claims that groseille comes from German Kraus+Bere (meaning Curly+Berry). > ... I have no theory how the French managed to drop the "b", > which is even more unlikely than turning an "r" into the French "ll". Well, the explanation is that "groseille" only contains the first part of the Germ word. In fact the addition of 'beere' (berry) is relatively recent and in Frankish (the source for the French) the word is "kru^sil". > German Kra"uselbeere and Dutch kruisbes both denote the gooseberry. The > "literal" translation of kruisbes is "cross berry"; since there is nothing > cross about gooseberries, this is quite likely a corruption of some German > word "Krausbeere". However, I happen to know that in some Dutch dialects > (both in Limburg and on the border between Brabant and Gelderland; possibly > elsewhere too) a gooseberry is called "kroezel" (my spelling; "oe" is > pronounced like "oo" in "goose"), without addition of a qualification "bes" > = berry. This form seems to link French groseille with German > Kra"usel(beere). Yes. Btw. for the French word (old french "groiselle") also the origin "acricella" (~ bitter berry) has been suggested; this is less satisfactory, as "acricella" should have given *grosselle, but perhaps both words coalesced. Spanish has "grosella", Portuguese "groselha", but these are French loans. The IndoEuropean root is *ger- 'turn/wind' (as in "creek" and "crook").