Mother Goose

American  

noun

1. the fictitious author of a collection of nursery rhymes first published in London (about 1760) under the title of Mother Goose's Melody.

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Mother Goose British  

noun

1. the imaginary author of the collection of nursery rhymes published in 1781 in London as Mother Goose's Melody

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Etymology

Origin of Mother Goose

C18: translated from French Contes de ma mère l'Oye (1697), title of a collection of tales by Charles Perrault (1628–1703), French author

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Mother Goose

Its name is inspired by the nursery rhyme Old Mother Goose, reflecting the idea of an ancient goose emerging from the mud of a fossil deposit.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 11, 2026

Marianne used Mother Goose books to teach her mother English.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026

In a statement the Everyman Theatre said that Mother Goose is a live production, which is constantly being refined and improved.

From BBC ● Dec. 7, 2023

Marguleta has tried meeting with families to tout the benefits of Mother Goose — quality care, free meals, long hours — but “we can’t compete with free, no matter how high our quality is.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 18, 2023

From the doorway she could hear Old Mother Goose honking over her gosling.

From "The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson