goose

Meaning

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) 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 generally bigger than ducks.
2. (countable, uncountable) A female goose.
3. (countable, uncountable) The flesh of the goose used as food.
4. (countable, slang, uncountable) A silly person.
5. (archaic, countable, uncountable) A tailor's iron, heated in live coals or embers, used to press fabrics.
6. (South-Africa, countable, dated, slang, uncountable) A young woman or girlfriend.
7. (historical, uncountable) An old English board game in which players moved counters along a board, earning a double move when they reached the picture of a goose.

Verb

1. (slang, transitive) To sharply poke or pinch the buttocks, or prod between the buttocks, of (a person).
2. (slang, transitive) To stimulate; to spur.
3. (slang, transitive) To gently accelerate (an automobile or machine), or give repeated small taps on the accelerator.
4. (UK, slang) Of private-hire taxi drivers, to pick up a passenger who has not booked a cab, in violation of UK licensing conditions.
5. (slang, transitive) To hiss (a performer) off the stage.

Synonyms

duck

🦆

goofball

swan

🦢

simpleton

turkey

fathead

zany

goof

bozo

jackass

twat

excite

cuckoo

Canada goose

ninny

dolt

dullard

dumbbell

egg on

escalate

exhort

feebleminded

flamingo

🦩

fool

foolish

gander

ganders

gannet

gawk

geese

goad

goon

goosey

goosy

gormless

half-witted

heighten

hen

🐔

incite

increase

instigate

intensify

jog

klutz

light-headed

loon

maned

moron

mug

nincompoop

Translations

oie

🪿

Gans

🪿

oca

🪿

gans

🪿

ganso

ganso

🪿

oca

🪿

χήνα

anser

🪿

oca

🪿

ánsar

kaz

🪿

auca

qaz

🪿

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɡuːs/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: goos

Inherited from Old English: gōs

Cognate with Western Frisian: goes

Cognate with Northern Frisian: göis

Cognate with Northern Frisian: gus

Cognate with Northern Frisian: Guus

Cognate with Low German: Goos

Cognate with Low German: Gans

Cognate with Dutch: gans

Cognate with German: Gans

Cognate with Danish: -

Cognate with Swedish: -

Cognate with Norwegian: gås

Cognate with Icelandic: gæs

Cognate with Irish: gé

Cognate with Latin: ānser

Cognate with Latvian: zoss

Cognate with Russian: гусь

Cognate with Albanian: gatë

Cognate with Ancient Greek: χήν

Cognate with Avestan: 𐬰𐬁

Cognate with Sanskrit: हंस

In summary

PIE word
*ǵʰh₂éns
From Middle English goos, gos, from Old English gōs, from Proto-West Germanic *gans, from Proto-Germanic *gans, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰh₂éns.
Cognates
Compare West Frisian goes, North Frisian göis (also Fering-Öömrang dialect North Frisian gus; Sölring dialect North Frisian Guus; Heligoland dialect North Frisian gus), Low German Goos, Gans, Dutch gans, German Gans, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian gås, Icelandic gæs, Irish gé, Latin ānser, Latvian zùoss, Russian гусь (gusʹ), Albanian gatë, Ancient Greek χήν (khḗn), Avestan 𐬰𐬁 (zā), Sanskrit हंस (haṃsá).
* The tailor's iron is so called from the likeness of the handle to the neck of a goose.