Currant
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Currant may refer to:
- The Zante currant, a small variety of seedless grape
- Redcurrants and blackcurrants, berries of the genus Ribes
- Currant tomatoes, a particularly small variety of cherry tomato
- Raisin, as mistakenly labeled at times in the past when exported from Greece
- The currant-tree, a variety of serviceberry
[edit] See also
[edit] Etymology
The word came into English from the Anglo-French phrase "reisin de Corauntz", that referred to small seedless raisins imported from Corinthia in southern Greece. This phrase was first attested in 1334 as "raysyn of Curans" (raisins of Corinth). The word was transferred to the unrelated northern European berries from the genus Ribes when they were introduced to England in 1578. When they were first introduced to America they were thought to be used as a laxative, but was mistaken when people learned that when taken in mass amounts currant causes constipation.
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