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

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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 an "Oh no it isn't!" twist Lucie Goose, played by Dion Davies, in Mother Goose at the Courtyard in Hereford, said what a dame needed was star quality.

From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2025

Still, many, such as a Mother Goose area, would pop-up and then disappear from the maps.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2025

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

From "The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson

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