# goose

Pronunciation: say "GOOS" US /ɡus/, UK /ɡuːs/

## Noun

1. Any of various grazing waterfowl of the family Anatidae, with feathers and webbed feet, able to fly, swim, and walk, and generally larger than ducks.
   - Simple: A large water bird with webbed feet and feathers, bigger than a duck.
   - _A goose landed on the pond and began grazing along the shore._
   - _Wild geese migrate thousands of miles each year._
2. The flesh of the goose, prepared and served as food.
   - Simple: Meat from the goose, cooked and eaten as food.
   - _The chef served goose with a side of red cabbage._
   - _Roast goose is a traditional centerpiece at many winter feasts._
4. A silly or foolish person. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A foolish or silly person.
   - _Don't be a goose. Of course they invited you._
   - _He felt like a goose after locking his keys in the car._
6. The female member of the goose species.
   - Simple: The female of the large water bird, not the male.
   - _The goose guarded her nest while the gander patrolled the water's edge._
   - _A goose can lay up to a dozen eggs in a single clutch._
9. An old dice race game, popular across Europe, in which players moved counters along a track, earning a double move on reaching a picture of a goose.
   - Simple: An old board game where players moved pieces along a path, getting an extra move at each goose picture.
   - _On winter nights the family gathered to play goose at the kitchen table._
   - _A lucky throw in goose could send a counter racing ahead._

## Verb

3. To give something a quick boost or spur it into greater activity, such as a business figure or an engine's throttle. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To give something a sudden push to make it go faster or grow, like pressing a car's gas pedal.
   - _The studio goosed ticket sales with a surprise re-release._
   - _Lower rates can goose demand for new homes._
5. To sharply poke or pinch someone's buttocks, or prod between them. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To poke or pinch someone sharply on the bottom.
   - _Someone goosed him in the crowded hallway, and he spun around in surprise._
   - _He warned the kids not to goose each other while waiting in line._
8. To hiss at a performer in order to drive them off the stage. *(slang)*
   - Simple: To hiss loudly at a performer to try to make them leave the stage.

## Noun

7. An iron that tailors heated in glowing coals or embers and used for pressing fabric. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: A heavy iron, heated in hot coals, that tailors used to press cloth.
   - _Each morning the tailor buried his goose in the hot coals so it would be ready to press the first coat of the day._
   - _He pressed each seam flat with a heavy goose fresh from the fire._
10. A young woman or one's girlfriend. *(dated, South Africa)*
   - Simple: A young woman, or someone's girlfriend.

## Other meanings

- (verb) Of a private-hire taxi driver, to pick up a passenger who has not pre-booked, in breach of UK licensing rules.

## Origin

"Goose" comes from Middle English "goos," from Old English "gōs," going back through Proto-West Germanic and Proto-Germanic "*gans" to the Proto-Indo-European root *ǵʰh₂éns. It is related to Dutch "gans," German "Gans," Swedish "gås," Latin "ānser," and Ancient Greek "χήν" (khḗn).

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/goose (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).