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Glite Dictionary
🪿 Like a goose 🤪 Foolish
anserine

anserine

9.9
Like a goose in shape or movement
  • adjective
  • /ˈæn.səˌraɪn/
  • Specialized
translation icon : anserino
  • She described his anserine features, noting the long neck and rounded face.

Examples

  • The anserine gait of the man reminded observers of a waddling goose.

  • The anserine features of the bird were quite striking.

  • The painting captured an anserine elegance, with the model posed gracefully like a swan or a goose.

  • Look at that anserine bird over there!

  • The anserine gait of the toddler made her look like a little goose as she waddled across the yard.

  • His anserine appearance, with a rounded face and long neck, reminded everyone of the geese swimming in the pond.

  • She admired the anserine grace of the swan, which moved fluidly on the water like a majestic goose.

Surface Forms

anserine positive

Morphology

anserine = goose (semi-transparent) = anser + ine

Formed with the combining form 'anser-' (goose) plus the adjectival suffix '-ine'; the root is not a productive English morpheme so the relation to 'goose' is not immediately obvious to learners.

Etymology

Anserine comes from the old Latin word anser 'goose', so it literally means 'like a goose'. Think of a long neck or a waddling walk, and you will remember why anserine describes things that resemble geese.