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. Compare the pairs man~men, mouse~mice, tooth~teeth, foot~feet, etc, etc.
Is the plural of goose geese or gooses?
geese
The usual standard plural of goose is geese.
Why is moose plural not Meese?
The only correct plural of moose is moose. Sometimes, people add an s to moose, but that is incorrect. Moose derives from Algonquian, a Native American language. It kept the same plural ending it had in its original language instead of adopting the normal s ending of most English plurals.
What is the correct plural of goose?
noun. plural geese /ˈgiːs/
Why don’t we say gooses?
In Old English, the word was gós, and back in the mists of time its plural would have been gósiz. By the phenomenon called “i-mutation”, the vowel in the second syllable affected the vowel in the first syllable, so by late Anglo-Saxon times, the plural had ceased to be gósiz and had become gés – our modern “geese”.
What do you call more than one goose?
The collective noun for a group of geese on the ground is a gaggle; when in flight, they are called a skein, a team, or a wedge; when flying close together, they are called a plump.
How do you say more than one goose?
The plural of goose is geese.
What is a plural of platypus?
However, given that “platypodes” has for some unfathomable reason never become popular, the dictionary goes on to say that the accepted plural is “platypuses” or (particularly in scientific and conservation contexts) “platypus”.
What is the plural of shrimp?
noun, plural shrimps, (especially collectively) shrimp for 1.
What is the plural of a walrus?
walrus /ˈwɑːlrəs/ noun. plural walrus or walruses.
Is Octopus plural octopi?
Octopi is the oldest plural form of octopus, coming from the belief that Latin origins should have Latin endings. However, octopus is not a simple Latin word, but a Latinized form of the Greek word októpus. Consequently, its “correct” plural form would logically be octopodes.
What is plural deer?
noun, plural deer, (occasionally) deers. any of several ruminants of the family Cervidae, most of the males of which have solid, deciduous antlers.
What’s plural for cactus?
plural cacti /ˈkækˌtaɪ/ or cactuses also US cactus.
What is the plural of Fox?
1 fox /ˈfɑːks/ noun. plural foxes.
What is the singular of moose?
Word forms: mooselanguage note: Moose is both the singular and the plural form. A moose is a large type of deer.
Why is the plural of mouse mice?
Years ago, people who had a computer mouse in each hand could call them “mouses” or “mice.” The “mice” plural comes from a linguistic process called “umlaut.” Today’s topic is irregular plural nouns, odd nouns such as “ox” and “oxen.”
What is a herd of geese called?
A group of geese is called a gaggle. This is because when geese get together they can get quite noisy and rowdy. They’re only referred to as a gaggle when they’re on land. When they’re flying in formation they can be referred to as a skein.
Is flock of geese correct?
In flight, a group of geese is called a skein, team or wedge. On the water or flying close together, a wedge of geese. The most generic term that can apply to geese anywhere is a flock.
What is the plural for potatoes?
potatoes
The plural form of potato is potatoes. The plural form of tomato is tomatoes.Potato and tomato belong to a set of nouns that end with the letter -o that form plurals by adding -es.
What is a family of geese called?
The young are know as goslings. They form flocks to fly south for the winter. The Canada goose has webbed feet for swimming. A group of geese has many collective nouns, including a “flock”, “chevron”, and “string” of geese.
Why ox plural is oxen?
The plural form of ‘Ox’ is ‘Oxen’ because some nouns adopt foreign rulings. The Foreign Plural nouns have irregular plural forms. They often make their plurals according to the rules of the language they were taken from (e.g. Latin or Greek or German).