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

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

“We can’t compete with a large organization like LAUSD,” said Victoria Marguleta, who owns and operates A Mother Goose Academy, serving children ages 2-5 in Chatsworth and Valley Village.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 18, 2023

Others followed, including Azucena in “Il trovatore” and Dame Quickly in “Falstaff” by Giuseppe Verdi, Herodias in “Salome” by Richard Strauss, Mother Goose in “The Rake’s Progress” by Igor Stravisnky and many others.

From Seattle Times • May 7, 2023

My father would have said Mother Goose was about to shake the feathers out of her pillows.

From "The Old Willis Place" by Mary Downing Hahn