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From Middle English goos, gos, from Old English gōs, from Proto-Germanic *gans, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰans- (compare West Frisian goes, North Frisian göis (also Fering-Öömrang dialect gus; Sölring dialect guus; Heligoland dialect gus), Low German Goos, Gans, Dutch gans, German Gans, Danish gås, Swedish gås, Norwegian gås, Icelandic gæs, Irish , Latin ānser, Latvian zùoss, Russian гусь ‎(gusʹ), Albanian gatë, Ancient Greek χήν ‎(khḗn), Avestan 𐬰𐬁 ‎(), Sanskrit हंस ‎(haṃsa)).


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Flying goose

goose ‎(plural geese)

  1. Any of various grazing waterfowl of the family Anatidae, which have feathers and webbed feet and are capable of flying, swimming, and walking on land, and which are bigger than ducks.
    There is a flock of geese on the pond.
  2. The flesh of the goose used as food.
    • 1843, Charles Dickens, “Stave 3: The Second of the Three Spirits”, in A Christmas Carol:
  3. (slang) A silly person.
    • 1906, Langdon Mitchell, “The New York Idea”, in John Gassner, editor, Best Plays of the Early American Theatre, 1787-1911[1], published 2000, ISBN 0486410986, page 430:
      I'm sorry for you, but you're such a goose.
  4. (archaic) A tailor's iron, heated in live coals or embers, used to press fabrics.
  5. (South Africa, slang, dated) A young woman or girlfriend.

Usage notes[edit]

  • A male goose is called a gander. A young goose is a gosling.
  • A group of geese can be called a gaggle when they are on the ground or in the water, and a skein or a wedge when they are in flight.


Derived terms[edit]


See also[edit]


goose ‎(third-person singular simple present gooses, present participle goosing, simple past and past participle goosed)

  1. (slang) To sharply poke or pinch someone's buttocks. Derived from a goose's inclination to bite at a retreating intruder's hindquarters.
  2. To stimulate, to spur.
  3. (slang) To gently accelerate an automobile or machine, or give repeated small taps on the accelerator.
  4. (British slang) Of private-hire taxi drivers, to pick up a passenger who has not pre-booked a cab. This is unauthorised under UK licensing conditions.