This is an abnormal plural. Moose is of Algonquin (Amerindian) origin and has a plural of "moose". Word history. One fowl is a goose, but two are called geese, Yet the plural of moose should never be meese. And why is that. The goose~geese alternation comes from Germanic umlaut, which was a sound change that resulted in a vowel alternation (stemming originally from the -iz plural suffix, which altered the sound of the preceding vowel) for plural forms. Is there any explanation about why moose in plural is still moose and goose in plural is geese? Moose is a recently “stolen” word from 17th century Abenaki word mos. Why is the plural of goose “geese”? You may find a lone mouse or a nest full of mice, But the plural of house is houses, not hice. There is no ruling for these types of plurals. The plural form of goose is geese. Geese is a very old English word, following a pattern that has always been … If the plural form of goose is geese, why is moose not called meese? Favorite Answer. Jay-Z, Beyoncé sit for Super Bowl's national anthem The noun goose is an example of this. Also English is not a grammatical language. To save you going to that post (although there is also interesting … Why is the plural of goose geese? (Jim Crace) Geese are waterfowl belonging to the Anatidae family. save hide report. English is a mongrel language that until relatively recently in historic time was just a collection of dialects. Why is the plural of moose not meese? And consider the goose with its plural of geese; Then a double caboose should be called a cabeese, And noose should be neese and moose should be meese And if … Log in or sign up to leave a comment log in sign up. Lv 7. Moose - North American meaning: I've had quite a lot of traffic to my "Six Geese a-laying" post about why the plural of "goose" is "geese" rather than "gooses". The noun goose is an example of this. Because it is English. Wiki User June 24, 2010 8:36PM. So where did the word “goose” come from, and where did it get its unusual plural? Similar rules come into play for the words "louse" and "mouse." comment. 2 Answers. Answer. English just kept the i-mutant plural of "goose" rather than making it into an "-s" plural.. If the plural form of goose is geese, why is moose not called meese? Be the first to share what you think! "Goose" comes from Old English. Goose is from the Germanic root, and its plural was adopted into Old English as "geese". Adding an “s” at the end to make a plural is a natural extension in modern English. Answer Save. It's a Germanic word, originally gos. The plural form "geese" is an example of what is called "i-mutation," which would take a while to explain, but it's the same thing that happens with "tooth-teeth," "foot-feet," etc. Relevance. As I mentioned on your other question, English has so many exceptions to the rule, that you are bound to have these inconsistencies. Close • Posted by 5 minutes ago. share. Since that word got added to English in the modern era, plural rules were well established. why is the plural of moose not meese? Certain plurals do not add a letter to the end, but instead change the word itself. Last weekend we were eating some popcorn covered in dark chocolate from the company Harry & David. Goose is a native Indo-European word, with reflexes in Proto-Germanic, Old English, etc, etc. If the plural of man is always called men, Why shouldn't the plural of pan be called pen? So that's why the plural of "goose" is "geese." The demons formed themselves into an attack pattern that was like a flock of geese , with their leader up in front. You just have to know. The Plural of Goose The plural of goose is geese. While people may have used a word similar to "hide" as the plural form of "house," the word was simply modernized into the more standard form of English pluralization (addition of the letter -s) while the others were not. Compare the pairs man~men, mouse~mice, tooth~teeth, foot~feet, etc, etc. JaneB. no comments yet. 9 years ago. Sort by. best. For "The Gift of Stones", I spent an afternoon chasing a flock of Canadian geese. Why is that the plural of goose is geese, but the plural of moose is moose. Certain plurals do not add a letter to the end, but instead change the word itself. More posts from the NoStupidQuestions community. Why is the plural of goose geese? It has rules, but is not governed by them. 33% Upvoted. If there are no seals to hunt, they will eat small whales, lemmings, and even geese.