gander

Meanings

1. A male goose.
2. A fool, simpleton.
3. A glance, look.
4. A man living apart from his wife.

1. to ramble, wander

1. A surname.
2. A town in Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Etymology

From Middle English gandre, from Old English gandra, ganra (“gander”), from Proto-West Germanic *ganʀō, from Proto-Germanic *ganzô (“gander”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰh₂éns (“goose”). The meaning "a look" is derived from the image of craning one's neck like a goose. Cognates Cognate with Dutch gander (“gander”), Low German Gander, Ganner (“gander”), dialectal German Gandert (“gander”), German Ganter (“gander”), Norwegian gasse (“gander”), Icelandic gassi (“gander”). Compare also Lithuanian gañdras (“stork”). Related to goose, gannet.