gaggle
[ gag-uh l ]
/ ˈgæg əl /
verb (used without object), gag·gled, gag·gling.
to cackle.
noun
a flock of geese when not flying.Compare skein.
an often noisy or disorderly group or gathering: a politician followed by a gaggle of supporters.
an assortment of related things.
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Nearby words
Origin of gaggle
1350–1400; Middle English gagelen (v.), gagel (noun); of imitative orig.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for gaggle
British Dictionary definitions for gaggle
gaggle
/ (ˈɡæɡəl) /
verb
(intr) (of geese) to cackle
noun
a flock of geese
informal a disorderly group of people
a gabbling or cackling sound
Word Origin for gaggle
C14: of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse gagl gosling, Dutch gaggelen to cackle, all of imitative origin
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for gaggle
gaggle
late 15c., gagyll, with reference to both geese and women. Barnhart says possibly from Old Norse gagl "small goose, gosling, bird;" OED calls it "one of the many artificial terms invented in the 15th c. as distinctive collectives referring to particular animals or classes of persons." Possibly of imitative origin (cf. Dutch gagelen "to chatter;" Middle English gaggle "to cackle," used of geese, attested from late 14c.).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper