what was named first the kiwi bird or fruit
Kiwifruit Early varieties were described in a 1904 nurseryman's catalogue as having "...edible fruits the size of walnuts, and the flavour of ripe gooseberries",[5] and Europeans called it Chinese gooseberry.[1] In 1962, New Zealand growers began calling it "kiwifruit" for export marketing, a name becoming commercially adopted in 1974.[1] The word kiwifruit and the shortened kiwi, have been used since around 1966, when the fruit was first imported from New Zealand to the United States.[6][7] Kiwifruit has since become a common name for all commercially grown fruit from the genus Actinidia.[1][8] In New Zealand, the shortened word, "kiwi", is seldom used to refer to the fruit, as it usually refers to the kiwi bird or the Kiwi people.[6][7]