A Dictionary of the English Language
                        A Digital Edition of the 1755 Classic by Samuel Johnson
        Search Transcribed Entries:

Goose

View Scan · View Transcription · from page 925

View Scan · View Transcription · from page 925

Goose. n.s. plural geese. [ᵹoꞅ, Saxon; goes, Dutch; gawe, Erse, sing. gewey, plural.]

  1. A large waterfowl proverbially noted, I know not why, for foolishness.

                        Thou cream-faced lown,
    Where got'st thou that goose look?     Shakesp. Macbeth.

    Since I pluckt geese, play'd truant, and whipt top, I knew not what 'twas to be beaten 'till lately. Shakespeare.

    Smile you my speeches, as I were a fool?
    Goose, if I had you upon Sarum plain,
    I'd drive ye cackling home to Comelot.     Shakes. King Lear.

    Birds most easy to be drawn are waterfowl; as the goose and swan. Peacham on Drawing.

    Nor watchful dogs, nor the more wakeful geese,
    Disturb with nightly noise the sacred peace.     Dryd. Fables.

  2. A taylor's smoothing iron.

    Come in, taylor: here you may roast your goose. Shakesp.

Sources: Dryden, John (788) · Shakespeare's King Lear (144) · Shakespeare's Macbeth (136) · Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor (95) · Peacham, Henry (53)

Attributes: Dutch (90) · Irish (Erse) (11) · Noun Substantive (1269) · Saxon (215)

Search for this word in: American Heritage · Cambridge · Dictionary.com · The Free Dictionary · Longman · Merriam-Webster · OneLook · Oxford Dictionaries · Vocabulary.com · Wiktionary · Wordnik

Cite this page: Johnson, Samuel. "Goose." A Dictionary of the English Language: A Digital Edition of the 1755 Classic by Samuel Johnson. Edited by Brandi Besalke. Last modified: April 27, 2014. https://johnsonsdictionaryonline.com/goose/.

Disclaimer:
johnsonsdictionaryonline.com is completely free to use. Johnson's dictionary is in the public domain, but please respect the hours of work put into this site by linking to it or crediting it. This site assumes no liability for its content or for the content of external sites linked to it, and has no warranty or guarantee concerning accuracy or availability.