Gosling definition
A young goose.
noun
A young goose.
noun
A naive or inexperienced young person.
noun
A young and foolish or inexperienced person.
noun
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Other Word Forms
Noun
Singular:
gosling
Plural:
goslingsOrigin of gosling
- Middle English variant (influenced by gos goose) of gesling from Old Norse gæslingr diminutive of gās goose ghans- in Indo-European roots
From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
- From Late Middle English gosling, goselyng (“gosling”), alteration (due to Middle English goos, gose (“goose”)) of earlier gesling (“gosling”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse gæsling, géslingr (“gosling”), from gás (“goose”) + -lingr (“-ling”). Cognate with Danish gæsling (“gosling”), Swedish gässling (“gosling”). Compare also Low German gossel, gössel (“gosling”), German Gänslein (“gosling”). More at goose, -ling.
From Wiktionary