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goat

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Goat, GOAT, G. O. A. T., G.O.A.T., and go at

English

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Domestic goat
Nubian ibex (Capra nubiana)

From Middle English goot, got, gat, from Old English gāt, from Proto-West Germanic *gait, from Proto-Germanic *gaits, from a substrate language.

The sense of lecherous man derives from the slang expression "horny as a goat".

Noun

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

goat (countable and uncountable, plural goats)

  2. A mammal, Capra aegagrus hircus, and similar species of the genus Capra.
    • 1980, AA book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 164:
      The first thing that greets you on entering the church is a notice asking you not to vex the goat, since it renders valuable service in keeping the churchyard tidy.
    • 2025 February 5, Howard Johnston, “Regional News: Southern”, in RAIL, number 1028, page 22:
      Folkestone: Network Rail and the White Cliffs Countryside Project have procured a herd of goats to keep vegetation on the slopes of Folkestone Warren under control, and to encourage rare species.
    1. (uncountable) The meat of the aforementioned animal.
      • 2008, Jesmyn Ward, Where the Line Bleeds, Bloomsbury (2018), page 157:
        Joshua could not stop himself from scooping more goat on his plate: Paul had cooked it so long that the meat seemed to melt like hot, syrupy candy in his mouth. Joshua remembered goat as a stringy dark meat, but the red spicy mass before him was nothing like he recalled.
      Ugh, we're having goat for dinner again.
  3. (slang) A lecherous man.
  4. (informal) A scapegoat.
    • 2008 August 6, “Tigers already miss Jones”, in Royal Oak Daily Tribune, Michigan:
      Fernando Rodney, the goat in Sunday's 10th inning loss to Tampa Bay, threw three nearly perfect innings in relief on Tuesday after being demoted from the closer role.
    • 1997, "1997 World Series", Game 7, bottom 11th inning, TV broadcast on NBC Sports, early morning October 27, 1997; words by Bob Costas
      Tony Fernández, who has worn hero's laurels throughout the postseason including earlier in this seventh game of the World Series, now cruel as it may seem, perhaps being fitted for goat horns.
  5. (slang) A Pontiac GTO car.
  6. (speech recognition) A person who is not easily understood by a speech recognition system; contrasted with sheep.
  7. A fool, loser, or object of ridicule.
    • 2008, Ned B. Ricks, Trusting Appearances: Things Are Not Always as They Seem, page 259:
      Samaurez said over his shoulder, “In fact, I missed being the class goat by only three places.” Gwen patted his arm, “But, look H-Two, George Pickett was the goat and see how famous he became.”
    • 2013, Larry Pointer, In Search of Butch Cassidy:
      ...Butch was the goat in that deal and innocent of the trap he was placed in.
    • 2013, Frank Norris, The Octopus:
      “If Osterman wants to play the goat, why should you help him out?”
  8. (roller derby) A blocker who is isolated behind the opposing team's blockers, so as to slow down the pack.
Synonyms
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Holonyms
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Derived terms
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Descendants
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  • → Abenaki: kots (from "goats")
  • → Marshallese: koot
  • → Rotokas: goti
  • → Tongan: koti, kosi
Translations
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See also
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Verb

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goat (third-person singular simple present goats, present participle goating, simple past and past participle goated)

  1. (transitive) To allow goats to feed on.
    • 1918, Agricultural Experiment Station, Director's Biennial Report, page 51:
      Rape and clover has yielded 283 sheep days of pasture, practically dry weather […] For the coming year it is planned to goat this area continuously
  2. (transitive) To scapegoat.
    • 2001 July 15, “A worthy Rusch to judgment”, in USA Today:
      John Rocker, meanwhile, was spared from getting goated because he didn't blow a save
  3. (transitive, roller derby) To isolate (an opposing blocker) behind one's own blockers, so as to slow down the pack.

Etymology 2

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Noun

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goat (plural goats)

  1. (acronym) Alternative letter-case form of GOAT (“greatest of all time”)

Etymology 3

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Noun

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goat (plural goats)

  1. (possibly obsolete) Alternative form of gote (“sluice, waterway”)
    • 1704, John Martyn (Londres), James Allestry (Londres), Henry Oldenburg, Philosophical Transactions, Giving Some Accompt of the Present Undertakings, Studies and Labors of the Ingenious in Many Considerable Parts of the World, page 1159:
      ... the present new Sluice or Goat (as they call it) at the end of Hamorebeck, at its fall into Boston Haven, taking up the foundation of the old Goat, they met with the roots of Trees, many of them issuing from their several […]
    • 1811, William Marshall, The Review and Abstract of the County Reports to the Board of Agriculture, page 34:
      [...] the Trent floods, which override the sluices and goats, and which operate at present as a bar to the improvement of the drainage of the commons; and lately, by authority of parliament, a canal has been made in a similar way […]
    • 1882, James Sandby Padley, The Fens and Floods of Mid-Lincolnshire: With a Description of the River Witham, in Its Neglected State Before 1762, and Its Improvements Up to 1825. With Maps, Plans, &c, page 19:
      […] For the Sands from the Mouth of the Sluices and Goats would be carried off and the Haven so deep that their Commons and Low Fens will be will be drain'd in wet Seasons, and always be Supplied with fresh water above the Lock for the use and benefit of the Commons.

Anagrams

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Namo

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Noun

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goat

  1. bone

References

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  • transnewguinea.org, citing McElhanon, KA & Voorhoeve, CL. 1970. The Trans-New Guinea Phylum: Explorations in deep-level genetic relationships. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics.

Swedish

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Verb

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goat

  1. supine of goa

West Frisian

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Noun

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goat c (plural goaten, diminutive goatsje)

  1. Alternative form of goate
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