gosling
English · Thesaurus
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gosling¹
- /ˈɡɒzlɪŋ/ UK
- /ˈɡɑzlɪŋ/ Canada, US
Where it comes from
From Late Middle English goslyng (“gosling”), alteration (due to Middle English goos (“goose”)) of earlier gesling (“gosling”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse gæsling, géslingr (“gosling”), from gás (“goose”) + -lingr (“-ling”), equivalent to goose + -ling. Cognate with Danish gæsling (“gosling”), Swedish gässling (“gosling”). Compare also Low German gossel, gössel (“gosling”), German Gänslein (“gosling”).
noun goslings · goslin
-
A young goose.
Marta's gander was a magnificent snow-white bird: the object of terror to foxes, children and dogs. She had reared him as a gosling; and whenever he approached, he would let fly a low contented burble and sidle his neck around her thighs.
Similar: gooseling
- An inexperienced and immature, or foolish and naive, young person. Two stout woodmen with difficulty cut down this tree, the chips of which flew far and wide about the hall; but at my command my two green goslings carried away the fragments without any difficulty.
- A catkin on willows, nut trees, and pines. These Aments (we must no longer call them catkins) are composed both of male and female flowers; what Henry calls goslings in spring are the Aments of the willow tree ; his green goslings are female Aments , and , when mature , have the appearance of little tufts of wool, which appearance is caused
Gosling²
Where it comes from
* As an English surname, spelling variant of Joslin.
* Also as an English surname, from Middle English gosling (“young goose”), partly borrowed from Old Norse gæslingr; equivalent to modern goose + -ling.
* As a German surname, from a personal name based on gut (“good”).
proper noun Goslings
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: green goose, goslet, duckling, stubble goose, china goose, cygnet, guck, wild goose, rock goose, black goose, brand goose, harvest goose, swan goose, goose, greylag, brent goose
Translations
Every language
noun young goose
| Español | ansarino, ansarón |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 새끼거위 saekkigeowi |
| Português | gansinho |
| Français | oison, oiselet |
| Deutsch | Gänseküken, Gänslein, Gänschen, junge Gans |
| Italiano | ochetto, ochetta, papero, papera, paperino, paperina |
| Română | boboc |
| Русский | гусёнок gusjónok |
| العربية | فَرْغَل farḡal, دُرَّج durraj |
| עברית | אווזון avazon |
noun callow, or foolish and naive, young person
| Deutsch | Grünschnabel, Gelbschnabel |
|---|---|
| Italiano | ochetta |
| Русский | глупы́ш glupýš |
Talk about this word "gosling." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/gosling. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. gosling. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/gosling "gosling." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/gosling.Cite this
@misc{gosling_2026,
title = {gosling},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/gosling},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
