\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.]
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 {R.
   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}
   ({R. aureum}), having showy yellow flowers.