And why not meese? (Though I do have a soft spot for moosen.)
Mohave Greenie
Meese was already taken as the plural of mouse.
Besides, a moose bit my sister.
Ed P
Roofs not rooves, but turves not turfs – english is funny
Grikath
Because when you stew celtic, germanic and “latin” grammar/spelling for a couple of centuries you end up with the unholy mess that is “english”? 😛
Grikath
Come to think of it.. I do remember “goose” being used as plural for the beasties. Dunno if it was Chaucer or Domesday/Anglosaxon Chronicles or somesuch.
Could be that “geese” is actually a modernism..
Nautical Nick
Goose become geese to stop confusion with mongoose. If there are two of them, they are bi-goose three, tri-goose etc., etc.
Andrew C
It’s like Guinness. All foreigners should be told the plural of Guinness is Guinnai and that they should ask confidently at the bar for “two Guinnai please”.
Andrew C
@Nautical Nick.
Geese is the plural of goose only if they are male. If they are female its goosesesses. Like lionesses.
E
It’s to do with the changing of singular to plural in old english.
Same reason we have one Ox but many Oxen and not Ox’s.
Tim Worstall
Not in English, no. Ox’s would be the horn that belongs to the ox. Oxs would be the plural even if it isn’t.
Nautical Nick
@Andrew C. And, of course,there is the story of th man who walked up to the bar and asked for a Martinus.
“Don’t you mean Martini, sir?”
“No thanks, I only want one.”
Diogenes
Foot and goose came in from German and thus suffered Germanic umlaut § I-mutation in Old English.
Sheep follows an almost general rule about plural animals being the same as the singular – trout, bison, buffalo. Yes, lots of exceptions.
If you have head of cattle, parliament of crows, can you have a liver of goose?
apeoijreporj
Timmy Seinfeld over here, eh?
Diogenes
It would be confusing if the plural of door were deer
dearieme
The plural of sloop isn’t sleep, except maybe in the US Navy.
jgh
Tim, you mean Oxes. fox/foxes, box/boxes, complex/complexes, fix/fixes, flex/flexes, sex/sexes, climax/climaxes, flux/fluxes, wax/waxes, relax/relaxes.
Josephine
“ If you have head of cattle, parliament of crows, can you have a liver of goose?”
It’s a parliament of owls – and a murder of crows.
Ottokring
It is of relatively modern origin. In the 19th Cent vessels taking ovine stock to the New World were often boarded by Mexican pirates who would then demand of the captain
“Hey Gringo, hand over your sheep, it ees beeger than ours.”
Confusion often reigned and once the story reached the papers, the name stuck.
decnine
I once heard a German at the bar in the Turf Tavern ask for a gallon and a half of bitter.
Jack the dog
I prefer a parliament of crows because it helps dehumanise the bastards.
A question that has troubled me since childhood.
And why not meese? (Though I do have a soft spot for moosen.)
Meese was already taken as the plural of mouse.
Besides, a moose bit my sister.
Roofs not rooves, but turves not turfs – english is funny
Because when you stew celtic, germanic and “latin” grammar/spelling for a couple of centuries you end up with the unholy mess that is “english”? 😛
Come to think of it.. I do remember “goose” being used as plural for the beasties. Dunno if it was Chaucer or Domesday/Anglosaxon Chronicles or somesuch.
Could be that “geese” is actually a modernism..
Goose become geese to stop confusion with mongoose. If there are two of them, they are bi-goose three, tri-goose etc., etc.
It’s like Guinness. All foreigners should be told the plural of Guinness is Guinnai and that they should ask confidently at the bar for “two Guinnai please”.
@Nautical Nick.
Geese is the plural of goose only if they are male. If they are female its goosesesses. Like lionesses.
It’s to do with the changing of singular to plural in old english.
Same reason we have one Ox but many Oxen and not Ox’s.
Not in English, no. Ox’s would be the horn that belongs to the ox. Oxs would be the plural even if it isn’t.
@Andrew C. And, of course,there is the story of th man who walked up to the bar and asked for a Martinus.
“Don’t you mean Martini, sir?”
“No thanks, I only want one.”
Foot and goose came in from German and thus suffered Germanic umlaut § I-mutation in Old English.
Sheep follows an almost general rule about plural animals being the same as the singular – trout, bison, buffalo. Yes, lots of exceptions.
Try this https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_plurals?wprov=sfla1
If you have head of cattle, parliament of crows, can you have a liver of goose?
Timmy Seinfeld over here, eh?
It would be confusing if the plural of door were deer
The plural of sloop isn’t sleep, except maybe in the US Navy.
Tim, you mean Oxes. fox/foxes, box/boxes, complex/complexes, fix/fixes, flex/flexes, sex/sexes, climax/climaxes, flux/fluxes, wax/waxes, relax/relaxes.
“ If you have head of cattle, parliament of crows, can you have a liver of goose?”
It’s a parliament of owls – and a murder of crows.
It is of relatively modern origin. In the 19th Cent vessels taking ovine stock to the New World were often boarded by Mexican pirates who would then demand of the captain
“Hey Gringo, hand over your sheep, it ees beeger than ours.”
Confusion often reigned and once the story reached the papers, the name stuck.
I once heard a German at the bar in the Turf Tavern ask for a gallon and a half of bitter.
I prefer a parliament of crows because it helps dehumanise the bastards.
Take your teef out and say “soup”.
Have you tried asking Cher?
And I guess 2 crows would be an attempted murder