English

gooseboy

goose + boy

A compound of goose + boy

Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰh₂éns

Proto-Germanic *gans

Proto-West Germanic *gans

Old English gōs

Middle English goos

English goose

Proto-Indo-European *bʰā-

…

Proto-Germanic *bōjô ‘younger brother’

Proto-West Germanic *bōjō

Old English *bōia ‘boy’

Middle English boye ‘servant, commoner, knave, boy’

English boy

Today it means

noun A young man who looks after geese.

Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.

Etymograph / gooseboy