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Glite Dictionary
gooseberry family

gooseberry family

8.1
A group of flowering plants that includes gooseberries and currants
  • noun
  • /ˈɡuːzbəri ˈfæmɪli/
  • Specialized
translation icon : familia de las grosellas
  • The gooseberry family includes both the cultivated gooseberry and various species of currant.

Examples

  • Members of the gooseberry family are recognized for their small, edible berry fruits.

  • Botanists originally placed the gooseberry family within the broader saxifrage family, Saxifragaceae.

  • The gooseberry family includes many delicious fruits.

  • Did you know the gooseberry family is related to currants?

  • Members of the gooseberry family are recognized for their small, edible berry fruits.

  • The gooseberry family includes both the cultivated gooseberry and various species of currant.

  • Botanists originally placed the gooseberry family within the broader saxifrage family, Saxifragaceae.

Synonyms

Grossulariaceae
vsgooseberry family
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of plants that make flowers and have berry fruits like currants and gooseberries

is placed within Saxifragaceae in earlier classifications by some authors
family Grossulariaceae
vsgooseberry family
  • Specialized
9.9

A group of flowering plants that make berries like currants and gooseberries

is instead often included within Saxifragaceae in earlier classifications by some authors

Surface Forms

gooseberry family singular
gooseberry families plural

Morphology

gooseberry + family

The meaning is directly compositional: 'gooseberry' names the plant/fruit and 'family' denotes a taxonomic grouping, so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer this refers to the plant family that includes gooseberries. The construction follows a common cross-linguistic pattern (X family = the family containing X), so the sense is transparent rather than idiomatic.

Etymology

Gooseberry family may come from the small fruit called a gooseberry; one old story says farmers saw geese eating the fruit and so called it a 'goose berry'. So gooseberry family now means a 'group of related plants' that make small, edible berries like gooseberries and currants.