gosling
noun
No English definition recorded for this entry.
L321349 on Wikidata ↗Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ˈɡɒzlɪŋ/ / /ˈɡɑzlɪŋ/
name
Etymology: * 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”).
- A surname.
noun
Etymology: 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”).
- 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.”
- 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 by the downy material that crowns their feeds;”
“When the oak puts on his goslings grey 'Tis time to sow barley night or day.”