gander

noun (1)

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gan·der | \ ˈgan-dər

Definition of gander

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : an adult male goose

2 : simpleton

gander

noun (2)

plural ganders

Definition of gander (Entry 2 of 2)

informal

: look, glance take a gander Those intrigued by such oddities … will surely find Stuart Kelly's "Book of Lost Books: An Incomplete History of All the Great Books You'll Never Read" worth a gander.— Joe Queenan … trying to step back for a good gander at the art in the Guggenheim.— Charles Taylor … had no choice but to push to the front of the horde and through some glass doors to get a gander at what was going on.— Rick Barrs

Synonyms & Antonyms Phrases Containing gander Learn More About gander

History and Etymology for gander

Noun (1)

Middle English gandre, gander, going back to Old English gandra, ganra, going back to Germanic *gan-ra- (whence Middle Low German ganre "male goose," Upper German dialect Gander, Ganter), derivative from the base of Germanic *gan-s- "goose" — more at goose entry 1

Noun (2)

probably derivative of gander entry 1, from the goose-like appearance of a person stretching to look at something