wild goose

noun

any of many species of wildlife goose, such as the greylag goose or the Canada goose, whose wedge fly in a wedge or V form, or cuneiform, as opposed to the domesticated goose that would not fly.

OriginMiddle English wilde gos →
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Meanings

nounwild goose (plural wild geese)

plural wild geese

  1. any of many species of wildlife goose, such as the greylag goose or the Canada goose, whose wedge fly in a wedge or V form, or cuneiform, as opposed to the domesticated goose that would not fly.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishwilde gos
  2. Englishwild goose

From Middle English wilde gos. Equivalent to wild + goose.

More words from Middle English

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian сива гъска
  • сива гъска (siva găska)species of wildlife goose
Chinese Cantonese 雁
  • 雁 (ngaan⁶)species of wildlife goose
Chinese Mandarin 雁
  • 雁 (yàn)species of wildlife goose
Czech husa velká
  • husa velkáspecies of wildlife goose
Danish vildgås
  • vildgåsspecies of wildlife goose
Estonian hallhani
  • hallhanispecies of wildlife goose
Finnish villihanhi
  • villihanhispecies of wildlife goose
French oie cendrée
  • oie cendréespecies of wildlife goose
German Wildgans, Graugans
  • Wildgansspecies of wildlife goose
  • Graugansspecies of wildlife goose
Greek αγριόχηνα
  • αγριόχηνα (agrióchina)species of wildlife goose
Hindi ग्रेलैग हंस
  • ग्रेलैग हंस (grelaig hans)species of wildlife goose
Icelandic grágæs
  • grágæsspecies of wildlife goose
Irish gé fhiáin
  • gé fhiáinspecies of wildlife goose
Japanese 雁
  • 雁species of wildlife goose
Korean 기러기 cf. 雁
  • 기러기 cf. 雁 (gireogi)species of wildlife goose
Polish gęś gęgawa
  • gęś gęgawaspecies of wildlife goose
Portuguese ganso-bravo
  • ganso-bravospecies of wildlife goose
Romanian gâscă sălbatică
  • gâscă sălbaticăspecies of wildlife goose
Russian се́рый гусь
  • се́рый гусь (séryj gusʹ)species of wildlife goose
Spanish ánsar común, ganso común
  • ánsar comúnspecies of wildlife goose
  • ganso comúnspecies of wildlife goose
  • oca comúnspecies of wildlife goose
Swedish vildgås
  • vildgåsspecies of wildlife goose
Welsh gŵydd wyllt
  • gŵydd wylltspecies of wildlife goose
Cite this entry
APA

wild goose. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wild%20goose

MLA

“wild goose.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wild%20goose. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wild goose,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wild%20goose.

Source: wild goose on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.