wild goose

noun

plural wild geese

1

: an undomesticated goose: such as

a

England : greylag

b

: canada goose

2

: an Irish Jacobite who left Ireland after the abdication of James II and served in the French army

broadly : an expatriate Irishman

Word History

Etymology

Middle English wilde gos, from Old English wilde gōs, from wilde wild + gōs goose

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