from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Goose \Goose\ (g[=oo]s), n.; pl. {Geese} (g[=e]s). [OE. gos, AS.
g[=o]s, pl. g[=e]s; akin to D. & G. gans, Icel. g[=a]s, Dan.
gaas, Sw. g[*a]s, Russ. guse. OIr. geiss, L. anser, for
hanser, Gr. chh`n, Skr. ha[.m]sa. [root]233. Cf. {Gander},
{Gannet}, {Ganza}, {Gosling}.] (Zool.)
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1. Any large web-footen bird of the subfamily {Anserin[ae]},
and belonging to {Anser}, {Branta}, {Chen}, and several
allied genera. See {Anseres}.
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Note: The common domestic goose is believed to have been
derived from the European graylag goose ({Anser
anser}). The bean goose ({A. segetum}), the American
wild or Canada goose ({Branta Canadensis}), and the
bernicle goose ({Branta leucopsis}) are well known
species. The American white or snow geese and the blue
goose belong to the genus {Chen}. See {Bernicle},
{Emperor goose}, under {Emperor}, {Snow goose}, {Wild
goose}, {Brant}.
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2. Any large bird of other related families, resembling the
common goose.
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Note: The Egyptian or fox goose ({Alopochen Aegyptiaca}) and
the African spur-winged geese ({Plectropterus}) belong
to the family {Plectropterid[ae]}. The Australian
semipalmated goose ({Anseranas semipalmata}) and Cape
Barren goose ({Cereopsis Nov[ae]-Hollandi[ae]}) are
very different from northern geese, and each is made
the type of a distinct family. Both are domesticated in
Australia.
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3. A tailor's smoothing iron, so called from its handle,
which resembles the neck of a goose.
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4. A silly creature; a simpleton.
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5. A game played with counters on a board divided into
compartments, in some of which a goose was depicted.
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The pictures placed for ornament and use,
The twelve good rules, the royal game of goose.
--Goldsmith.
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{A wild goose chase}, an attempt to accomplish something
impossible or unlikely of attainment.
{Fen goose}. See under {Fen}.
{Goose barnacle} (Zool.), any pedunculated barnacle of the
genus {Anatifa} or {Lepas}; -- called also {duck
barnacle}. See {Barnacle}, and {Cirripedia}.
{Goose cap}, a silly person. [Obs.] --Beau. & .
{Goose corn} (Bot.), a coarse kind of rush ({Juncus
squarrosus}).
{Goose feast}, Michaelmas. [Colloq. Eng.]
{Goose grass}. (Bot.)
(a) A plant of the genus {Galium} ({G. Aparine}), a
favorite food of geese; -- called also {catchweed} and
{cleavers}.
(b) A species of knotgrass ({Polygonum aviculare}).
(c) The annual spear grass ({Poa annua}).
{Goose neck}, anything, as a rod of iron or a pipe, curved
like the neck of a goose; specially (Naut.), an iron hook
connecting a spar with a mast.
{Goose quill}, a large feather or quill of a goose; also, a
pen made from it.
{Goose skin}. See {Goose flesh}, above.
{Goose tongue} (Bot.), a composite plant ({Achillea
ptarmica}), growing wild in the British islands.
{Sea goose}. (Zool.) See {Phalarope}.
{Solan goose}. (Zool.) See {Gannet}.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Wild \Wild\, a. [Compar. {Wilder}; superl. {Wildest}.] [OE.
wilde, AS. wilde; akin to OFries. wilde, D. wild, OS. & OHG.
wildi, G. wild, Sw. & Dan. vild, Icel. villr wild,
bewildered, astray, Goth. wilpeis wild, and G. & OHG. wild
game, deer; of uncertain origin.]
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1. Living in a state of nature; inhabiting natural haunts, as
the forest or open field; not familiar with, or not easily
approached by, man; not tamed or domesticated; as, a wild
boar; a wild ox; a wild cat.
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Winter's not gone yet, if the wild geese fly that
way. --Shak.
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2. Growing or produced without culture; growing or prepared
without the aid and care of man; native; not cultivated;
brought forth by unassisted nature or by animals not
domesticated; as, wild parsnip, wild camomile, wild
strawberry, wild honey.
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The woods and desert caves,
With wild thyme and gadding vine o'ergrown.
--Milton.
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3. Desert; not inhabited or cultivated; as, wild land. "To
trace the forests wild." --Shak.
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4. Savage; uncivilized; not refined by culture; ferocious;
rude; as, wild natives of Africa or America.
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5. Not submitted to restraint, training, or regulation;
turbulent; tempestuous; violent; ungoverned; licentious;
inordinate; disorderly; irregular; fanciful; imaginary;
visionary; crazy. "Valor grown wild by pride." --Prior. "A
wild, speculative project." --Swift.
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What are these
So withered and so wild in their attire ? --Shak.
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With mountains, as with weapons, armed; which makes
Wild work in heaven. --Milton.
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The wild winds howl. --Addison.
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Search then the ruling passion, there, alone
The wild are constant, and the cunning known.
--Pope.
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6. Exposed to the wind and sea; unsheltered; as, a wild
roadstead.
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7. Indicating strong emotion, intense excitement, or
?ewilderment; as, a wild look.
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8. (Naut.) Hard to steer; -- said of a vessel.
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Note: Many plants are named by prefixing wild to the names of
other better known or cultivated plants to which they a
bear a real or fancied resemblance; as, wild allspice,
wild pink, etc. See the Phrases below.
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{To run wild}, to go unrestrained or untamed; to live or
untamed; to live or grow without culture or training.
{To sow one's wild oats}. See under {Oat}.
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{Wild allspice}. (Bot.), spicewood.
{Wild balsam apple} (Bot.), an American climbing
cucurbitaceous plant ({Echinocystis lobata}).
{Wild basil} (Bot.), a fragrant labiate herb ({Calamintha
Clinopodium}) common in Europe and America.
{Wild bean} (Bot.), a name of several leguminous plants,
mostly species of {Phaseolus} and {Apios}.
{Wild bee} (Zool.), any one of numerous species of
undomesticated social bees, especially the domestic bee
when it has escaped from domestication and built its nest
in a hollow tree or among rocks.
{Wild bergamot}. (Bot.) See under {Bergamot}.
{Wild boar} (Zool.), the European wild hog ({Sus scrofa}),
from which the common domesticated swine is descended.
{Wild brier} (Bot.), any uncultivated species of brier. See
{Brier}.
{Wild bugloss} (Bot.), an annual rough-leaved plant
({Lycopsis arvensis}) with small blue flowers.
{Wild camomile} (Bot.), one or more plants of the composite
genus {Matricaria}, much resembling camomile.
{Wild cat}. (Zool.)
(a) A European carnivore ({Felis catus}) somewhat
resembling the domestic cat, but larger stronger, and
having a short tail. It is destructive to the smaller
domestic animals, such as lambs, kids, poultry, and
the like.
(b) The common American lynx, or bay lynx.
(c) (Naut.) A wheel which can be adjusted so as to revolve
either with, or on, the shaft of a capstan. --Luce.
{Wild celery}. (Bot.) See {Tape grass}, under {Tape}.
{Wild cherry}. (Bot.)
(a) Any uncultivated tree which bears cherries. The wild
red cherry is {Prunus Pennsylvanica}. The wild black
cherry is {Prunus serotina}, the wood of which is much
used for cabinetwork, being of a light red color and a
compact texture.
(b) The fruit of various species of {Prunus}.
{Wild cinnamon}. See the Note under {Canella}.
{Wild comfrey} (Bot.), an American plant ({Cynoglossum
Virginicum}) of the Borage family. It has large bristly
leaves and small blue flowers.
{Wild cumin} (Bot.), an annual umbelliferous plant
({Lag[oe]cia cuminoides}) native in the countries about
the Mediterranean.
{Wild drake} (Zool.) the mallard.
{Wild elder} (Bot.), an American plant ({Aralia hispida}) of
the Ginseng family.
{Wild fowl} (Zool.) any wild bird, especially any of those
considered as game birds.
{Wild goose} (Zool.), any one of several species of
undomesticated geese, especially the Canada goose ({Branta
Canadensis}), the European bean goose, and the graylag.
See {Graylag}, and {Bean goose}, under {Bean}.
{Wild goose chase}, the pursuit of something unattainable, or
of something as unlikely to be caught as the wild goose.
--Shak.
{Wild honey}, honey made by wild bees, and deposited in
trees, rocks, the like.
{Wild hyacinth}. (Bot.) See {Hyacinth}, 1
(b) .
{Wild Irishman} (Bot.), a thorny bush ({Discaria Toumatou})
of the Buckthorn family, found in New Zealand, where the
natives use the spines in tattooing.
{Wild land}.
(a) Land not cultivated, or in a state that renders it
unfit for cultivation.
(b) Land which is not settled and cultivated.
{Wild licorice}. (Bot.) See under {Licorice}.
{Wild mammee} (Bot.), the oblong, yellowish, acid fruit of a
tropical American tree ({Rheedia lateriflora}); -- so
called in the West Indies.
{Wild marjoram} (Bot.), a labiate plant ({Origanum vulgare})
much like the sweet marjoram, but less aromatic.
{Wild oat}. (Bot.)
(a) A tall, oatlike kind of soft grass ({Arrhenatherum
avenaceum}).
(b) See {Wild oats}, under {Oat}.
{Wild pieplant} (Bot.), a species of dock ({Rumex
hymenosepalus}) found from Texas to California. Its acid,
juicy stems are used as a substitute for the garden
rhubarb.
{Wild pigeon}. (Zool.)
(a) The rock dove.
(b) The passenger pigeon.
{Wild pink} (Bot.), an American plant ({Silene
Pennsylvanica}) with pale, pinkish flowers; a kind of
catchfly.
{Wild plantain} (Bot.), an arborescent endogenous herb
({Heliconia Bihai}), much resembling the banana. Its
leaves and leaf sheaths are much used in the West Indies
as coverings for packages of merchandise.
{Wild plum}. (Bot.)
(a) Any kind of plum growing without cultivation.
(b) The South African prune. See under {Prune}.
{Wild rice}. (Bot.) See {Indian rice}, under {Rice}.
{Wild rosemary} (Bot.), the evergreen shrub {Andromeda
polifolia}. See {Marsh rosemary}, under {Rosemary}.
{Wild sage}. (Bot.) See {Sagebrush}.
{Wild sarsaparilla} (Bot.), a species of ginseng ({Aralia
nudicaulis}) bearing a single long-stalked leaf.
{Wild sensitive plant} (Bot.), either one of two annual
leguminous herbs ({Cassia Chamaecrista}, and {Cassia
nictitans}), in both of which the leaflets close quickly
when the plant is disturbed.
{Wild service}.(Bot.) See {Sorb}.
{Wild Spaniard} (Bot.), any one of several umbelliferous
plants of the genus {Aciphylla}, natives of New Zealand.
The leaves bear numerous bayonetlike spines, and the
plants form an impenetrable thicket.
{Wild turkey}. (Zool.) See 2d {Turkey}.
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