goat English · revision 10510

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=before 700|origins=gem-pro *gaits|origins=ine-pro *gʰaydos}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /ɡəʊt/ ''(UK)''; /ɡoʊt/ ''(US)''^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is Middle English gote, [[inh|ang|gāt|t=she-goat]],^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) from Proto-Germanic *gaitaz,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986) source also of Dutch geit, German [[m|de|Geiß]], Old Norse geit and Gothic gaits,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from PIE *ghaid-o-, young goat, source also of Latin [[m|la|haedus|t=kid]].^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ A goat: before 700 in the OED, about 700 in Barnhart.^(OED 1989)^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ In Old English gāt was the female; the male was a bucca (see [[buck]]).^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986)^(OED 1989) In the late 14th century the sexes began to be distinguished as he-goat and she-goat;^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline) nanny goat is from the 18th century and billy goat from the 19th.^(Etymonline) The sign Capricorn is from 1387.^(OED 1989) A licentious man is from the 1670s.^(Etymonline)^(AHD) ''To get someone's goat'' is American, by 1908, perhaps from stealing a goat kept as a mascot for a racehorse or unit.^(Etymonline) ''Goatee'' is from 1844–47,^(Barnhart 1988)^(Hoad 1986) and ''goatskin'' from before 1387.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * before 700 – a goat.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1387 – Capricorn.^(OED 1989)

+ * late 14th century – he-goat, she-goat.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1670s – a lecherous man.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1844 – goatee.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1908 – get someone's goat.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A hardy, horned, bearded ruminant mammal of the genus Capra, kept for milk, meat and wool.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # ''(informal)'' A lecherous man.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # A [[scapegoat]].^(AHD)

+ # ''(the Goat)'' The constellation or sign [[Capricorn]].^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[goatish]]

+ * [[goatlike]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[goatee]]

+ * [[scapegoat]]

+ * [[kid]]

+ * [[caprine]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ In Devon dialect, to goat was to set up unbound sheaves of corn in a field.^(Wright 1898)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}