Why moose in plural is moose, and goose in plural is geese?

Question

Is there any explanation about why moose in plural is still moose and goose in plural is geese? Last weekend we were eating some popcorn covered in dark chocolate from the company Harry & David. That popcorn is called "Moose Munch", and we started to talk about moose with our friends. Nobody had a clue about the plural of moose. I looked it up here and it is still moose. But, then the question is why not "meese"?

This is like the fish/fish thread or sheep/sheep world - lagartijaverde, MAY 15, 2010

Answer 1

From what I've read it's because they have different word origins so they don't have to follow the same rules. Moose is from the Algonquin language, and Goose is not.

Look at "mongoose", which is of Asian origin, but we don't call them "mongeese"

oops...beat me to it - Izanoni1, MAY 15, 2010

OED: "The proper plural form is mongooses, but mongoose, mongeese, and other variants are occasionally used." - samdie, MAY 15, 2010

Answer 2

It could have something to do with the varied etymologies of the words:

Moose - from algonquian

Goose - passed down from proto-Indo-European to German to Old English to Middle English to Modern English and likely picked up its spelling patterns along the way.

Similar changes in spelling patterns from singular to plural (i.e. goose → geese) can be found in other words that share this common heritage (and which likely shared an earlier phonemic connection as well):

mouse → mice

louse → lice

Glad you said that before I typed out my answer, so much easier to click on vote for someone with a wornout backspace/ erase key! - LateToDinner, MAY 15, 2010

See? I even skewered that! - LateToDinner, MAY 15, 2010

Answer 3

It's because words like "mouse" and "goose" go back to Old English, also known as "Anglo-Saxon." In this, ancestor form of English, plurals were commonly formed by changing the vowels in words.

Examples: Mouse/mice goose/geese fot/fet (modern foot/feet) man/men tooth/teeth louse/lice

etc. . .

Forgot to add that "moose" were not known until Europeans discovered the New World, by which time, the rules for forming plurals had changed. - buddah714, DIC 26, 2014

Answer 4

Welcome to the English language.

Answer 5

Gracias por todas sus respuestas. Estoy más que preparada para decirles a mis amigos todo lo que aprendí.

Answer 6

I don't know if there is an explanation, you just have to learn the plurals of different animals. There are many. Here are some more:

Plural of deer is deer (not deers)

Plural of fish is fish

Plural of elk is elk

Plural of sheep is sheep

Plural of buffalo is buffalo

It really gets fun when you get into what a group of specific animals is called like:

A herd of elk

A gaggle of geese

A murder of crows

You can say "fishes" as the plural of fish, though it is not used very often - MeEncantanCarasSonrisas, MAY 15, 2010

Answer 7

(with the risk of making a complete fool of myself)

And why not mouses instead of mice?

And why houses instead of hice? - Daniela2041, DIC 27, 2014

Answer 8

Again Mongoose is a word borrowed from Marathi and does not share the same etymology as either moose or goose - Izanoni1

Even if it did share the same etymology, English is not consistent in its importation of words from other languages. Sometime we use their masculine/feminine or singular/plural forms and sometimes, we do not.

Answer 9

To add to the craziness, the plural of mongoose is mongooses so we have:

Moose/Moose

Goose/Geese

Mongoose/Mongooses

The more Spanish I learn the more I look back on English with one eyebrow raised saying "What were they thinking?"

Again Mongoose is a word borrowed from Marathi and does not share the same etymology as either moose or goose - Izanoni1, MAY 15, 2010

Answer 10

There are some words that double as singular and plural. "Moose" happens to be one of them

Answer 11

We ask ourselves this same question all the time. Why not "meese?"

Also, many English speakers would not know that the plural of "moose" is in fact "moose."