goat
UK[ɡəʊt]US[ɡoʊt]
n
A hardy domesticated ruminant animal that has backward-curving horns and is kept for its milk, wool, and meat.
n
A lecherous man.
Etymology
The English word 'goat' has a direct lineage from the Old English 'gāt', which referred to the animal. This term is traced back to the Proto-Germanic 'gaitaz', a common ancestor for similar words across Germanic languages, such as German 'Geiß' and Old Norse 'geit'. The ultimate origin is the Proto-Indo-European root 'ghaidos-', meaning 'goat'. This root's journey represents a classic case of a basic, concrete term for a domesticated animal that has remained remarkably stable in form and meaning across millennia within the Germanic branch of the Indo-European language family.
Analysis
The word 'goat' is a simplex word of Germanic origin. It functions as a single, unanalyzable morpheme in modern English.
Examples
The farmer herded the goat back into its pen.
Cheese made from goat's milk has a distinctive flavor.
In the zodiac, Capricorn is symbolized by a sea-goat.