"What's the plural of goose?"
The plural of goose is geese.
Definition of goose:
A large waterfowl similar to a duck but larger in size. A member of the Anatidae family.
Goose vs. Geese: Why is the plural of goose geese?
The plural of "goose" is "geese," which is an irregular plural form.
The word "goose" comes from the Old English word "gos," and was first recorded before the year 1,000.
It is similar to the German word "Gans" and the Dutch word "gans," all of which refer to the bird.
The Old English word "gos" already had the plural form "geese" which was passed on to Modern English. The plural form "geese" is the older and original form.
It follows the same rule as the words "tooth" and "foot" which become "teeth" and "feet" in their plural forms.
Irregular plural forms like "geese" can often be explained by tracing the word's etymology and understanding how the word has evolved over time.
It's worth noting that English is a language that has borrowed words from various languages, as a result it has a lot of irregular nouns and exceptions.
The pluralization pattern is often reflect the way the word was used in the older language it was borrowed from, or it reflect the Latin or Greek pluralization, or sometimes how it was used in the region that the language was spoken.
Plural of Goose Example Sentences
Here are some examples to illustrate the difference between the singular and plural forms:
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A goose was swimming in the pond. (Here "goose" is used in the singular form to refer to one individual bird.)
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A flock of geese were flying overhead. (Here "geese" is used in the plural form to refer to more than one bird)
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We saw a pair of geese mating on the lake. (Here "geese" is used in the plural form to refer to two birds, even though they are considered a pair)
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I just noticed a goose on the grass. (Here "goose" is used in the singular form to refer to one individual bird.)
Geese vs. gooses
The graph shows the occurances of the plural of goose in written English since 1800 using Google's Ngram Viewer.
Fun Fact:
Geese are highly sociable animals who get along with other species of animals such as ducks if they are raised around them. As well as grass and plants, geese also eat nuts, seeds and berries.
Sources:
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/goose
https://www.four-paws.org/campaigns-topics/topics/farm-animals/10-facts-about-geese
