GOOSE

In a Russian word "гусь (gusʹ)" the middle "u" indicates the lost nasality of "ą (an)" or "ę (en)". Same thing goes for Frisian "gus" which most probably developed from an earlier "gans".

In non Indo-European Finnish, Ingrian, Karelian and Livvi languages word for a goose is "hanhi" and it could come from the change of an initial S to H giving us the proto form of "sansi" with kept nasality of "ą (an)". The proof for this theory is in Old Prussian "sansy" and Old Lithuanian "żansis" and Avestan "zā, zāō".

Hanhi could itself be a proto form consisting of H that later changed to S in Baltic languages. There is also possibility that K changed to H from "kanki" or BOTH "kansi" = "gansi". That is why Sanskrit "हंस (haṃsa)" and then Hindi "हंस (hans)" could also come from the basic form of "hansi".

There is no CERTAINTY or RECONSTRUCTIONS in Indo-European languages. There is only the CONNECTION through the magic of H, K, G and S, Z, Ž.

Many cognate Slavic-Avestan words differ by the change of Slavic "S" to "H" in Avestan. There is also "Ż (ZH)" and "G" correspondence in other words.

GANS-

Old High German: gans

Old Polish: gąś (gans')

Low German: gans

Dutch: gans

Afrikaans: gans

Galician: ganso

Portuguese: ganso

Spanish: ganso (usually wild goose)

Asturian: gansu

Romani: gansako

Romanian: gânsac

English: gander

Plautdietsch: gauns

Vilamovian: gaons

ZANS-

Old Lithuanian: żąsis, żansis

Old Prussian: sansy

AN-

---> Malay: angsa (anagram of "gansa"?)

---> Indonesian: angsa

---> West Coast Bajau: angsa'

---> Basque: antzara

Latin: ānser

Spanish: ánsar (zoological word)

HA-

---> Finnish: hanhi

---> Ingrian: hanhi

---> Karelian: hanhi

---> Livvi: hanhi

---> Estonian: hani

---> Võro: hani

---> Ludian: hanh

---> Veps: hanh', haneh, handez

---> Võro: haah'

---> Votic: anõ

Jatvingian (Jotvingian, Sudovian): hańcza, hantia ("goose's")

Sanskrit: हंस (haṃsa)

Hindi: हंस (hans)

Assamese: হাঁহ (hãh)

Bengali: হাঁস (hãs), হাঁস (hãśô)

Urdu: ہنس‎‎ (hans)

Z-

Avestan: zā, zāō

Lithuanian: žąsis

Old Lithuanian: zusis

Latvian: zùoss

GAS-

Old Norse: gās

Faroese: gás

Kashubian: gãs

Romanian: gâscă

Bulgarian: гъ́ска (gǎ́ska), гъсо́к (gǎsók)

Persian: غاز‎‎ (ğâz)

Ossetian: хъаз (qaz)

Hungarian Jassic: qaz

Kurdish Kurmanji: qaz

Kurdish Sorani: قاز‎‎ (qaz)

Zazaki: qaz

Icelandic: gæs

Armenian: սագ (sag) (could be a reversed "gas")

GAT-

Albanian: gatë

GOS-

Elfdalian: gą̊s (with nasal "ą̊" sound almost identical to Polish "ą")

Polish: gąska, gąsior

Low German: goos

Swedish: gås

Norwegian: gås

Danish: gås

Slovene: gos, gosak

Old English: gōs

Tajik: ғоз (ġoz), қоз (qoz)

West Frisian: goes

North Frisian: göis

O-

French: oie

GE-

Old Irish: géis

Irish: gé

Polish: gęś, gęsi (genś, gensi)

Luxembourgish: Gäns

Old English: gēs (plural)

Icelandic: gæs

Scottish Gaelic: gèadh

Cornish: goedh

KE-

Ancient Greek: χήν (khḗn)

GW-

Welsh: gŵydd, gwyddau (plural)

Breton: gwaz

GUS-

Fering-Öömrang dialect North Frisian: gus

Sölring dialect North Frisian: guus

Heligoland dialect North Frisian: gus

Lower Sorbian: gus

Russian: гусь (gusʹ)

French: gueuse

Serbo-Croatian: гуска, guska, гусан, gusan

English: goose

GUNS-

Polabian Drevani: gunz

HUS-

Slovak: hus

Upper Sorbian: hus, husyca

Czech: husa

Belarusian: гусь (husʹ), гуса́к (husák)

Ukrainian: гу́ска (húska), гуса́к (husák)

JAU-

Dalmatian: jauca

CHI-

Greek: χήνα (chína)

Non Indo-European languages:

Chechen: гӏаз (ġaz)

Dargwa: къаз (ɢaz)

Ingush: гӏаж (ġaž)

Karakalpak: g'az, ғаз

Turkmen: gaz

Uyghur: غاز‎‎ (ghaz)

Adyghe: къаз (qāz)

Archi: хъаз (qaz)

Azerbaijani: qaz

Crimean Tatar: qaz

Karaim: къаз (qaz), каз (kaz)

Kazakh: қаз (qaz)

Kumyk: къаз (qaz)

Lezgi: къаз (q̄az)

Tatar: каз (qaz)

Tofa: қас (qas)

Nogai: каз (kaz)

Turkish: kaz

Kyrgyz: каз (kaz)

Tuvan: кас (kas)

Laz: კაზი (ḳazi), ღაზი (ɣazi)

Bashkir: ҡаҙ (qað)

Khakas: хас (has)

Uzbek: gʻoz

Iban: ansa

Abkhaz: аҟыз (āq̇əz)

Article created on the 19th of May 2018. Last updated on the 9th of September 2020.