GOOSE
What does "GOOSE" mean?
A large waterbird with a long neck, webbed feet, and a broad bill, related to ducks and swans.
Meanings
- A waterfowl of the family Anatidae, larger than a duck and with a longer neck. A skein of geese crossed the autumn sky.
- A female of this bird (as opposed to a 'gander', the male). The goose sat on her clutch of eggs.
- A silly or foolish person. Don't be a goose - of course you can do it. informal
- To poke or pinch someone sharply between the buttocks. He yelped when someone goosed him in the crowd. informal
Did you know?
- 'Goose' becomes 'geese' for the same reason 'foot' becomes 'feet': a prehistoric vowel shift called i-mutation, frozen into English for over a thousand years.
Word origin
From Old English 'gōs', from Proto-Germanic 'gans', from a Proto-Indo-European root '*ghans-' that also gave Latin 'anser' and Greek 'khēn' - one of the oldest bird names in the language.
Remember it
GOOSE has a double-O like two round eggs in the nest, with the long neck of the 'S' stretched out behind.
A little poem
Grey arrow of wings-
they leave on a single cry
and take the warm south.
haiku
Wordplay
- What do you call a clumsy bird that sneaks up behind you? A goose - it'll get you both ways.
What it teaches
The same wing that looks comic on the ground is what carries it a thousand miles.
Quick facts
What does GOOSE mean?
A large waterbird with a long neck, webbed feet, and a broad bill, related to ducks and swans.
Is GOOSE a valid word?
Yes — GOOSE is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is GOOSE?
GOOSE has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does GOOSE come from?
From Old English 'gōs', from Proto-Germanic 'gans', from a Proto-Indo-European root '*ghans-' that also gave Latin 'anser' and Greek 'khēn' - one of the oldest bird names in the language.
What can GOOSE teach us?
The same wing that looks comic on the ground is what carries it a thousand miles.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.