Gojis

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Plural form of a small, bright red berry from Asia, often eaten dried and praised for its health benefits ; can refer to the plants that produce such fruit
2. Refers to multiple nutrient-rich, sweet-tart berries used in food and traditional medicine ; may also denote the bushes bearing these fruits
3. Describes several seed-filled fruits sourced from certain Asian shrubs and valued for their nutritional qualities ; can indicate the related plant species

Etymology: The fruit that now fills health-food shelves under the name "goji" was largely unknown in English before the late twentieth century, and the name itself appears to be a marketing invention. Its earliest known printed appearance dates to 1996, in Stephen Arlin, Fouad Dini and David Wolfe's book "Nature's First Law: The Raw-food Diet." The word is thought to be an altered pronunciation of the Mandarin "gǒuqǐ" (枸杞), the traditional Chinese name for the plant, though the details of that alteration are not firmly documented. The word's spread was rapid. The first appearance in the LexisNexis news database is a 2002 article in the San Antonio Express-News by John Griffin, titled "Uncooked food trend raises hopes, casts doubts." Wider use followed in 2003 and 2004, which suggests the term was promoted commercially in the early 2000s before it became common in everyday English.

Synonyms: goji berries, wolfberries, berries, fruits, superfruits