gosling

/ˈɡɒzlɪŋ/

//ˈɡɒzlɪŋ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"gosling" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“gosling” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #27,857. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#27,857
frequency rank, English
2,313
“G” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
11
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A young goose.

Corpus desk

Index EN-gosling · gosling · English

gosling · rank #27,857 · 11 variants · 11 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #27,857
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-MID 11 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,313
  • PHOTO-FINISH giro

Nearest frequency peer: giro (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “gosling”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “gosling” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

gosling vs gushing
71% similar
gosling vs gouging
71% similar
gosling vs gusting
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for gosling
PropertyValue
Headwordgosling
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˈɡɒzlɪŋ/
Letters7
Frequency rank#27,857
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs11
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “gosling”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).goslinglands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “giro” (#27,856), “grasshopper” (#27,858), “gino” (#27,855). Among 2,313 “G” headwords, “gosling” is #27,857. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around gosling (IPA /ˈɡɒzlɪŋ/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #27,857 among 2,313 “G” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for gosling, with forms such as "ggosling", "golsing", and "gosilng". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 11 confusable-pair relationships, "gushing", "gouging", "gusting", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Late Middle English goslyng (“gosling”), alteration (due to Middle English goos (“goose”)) of earlier gesling (“gosling”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse gæsling, géslingr (“gosling”), from gás (“goose”) + -lingr (“-ling”), equivalent to goos… The correct English form is gosling, spelled G-O-S-L-I-N-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    A young goose.
  2. 2
    An inexperienced and immature, or foolish and naive, young person.
  3. 3
    A catkin on willows, nut trees, and pines.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how gosling appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Marta's gander was a magnificent snow-white bird: the object of terror to foxes, children and dogs. She had reared him as a gosling; and whenever he approached, he would let fly a low contented burble and sidle his neck around her thighs.
  2. Two stout woodmen with difficulty cut down this tree, the chips of which flew far and wide about the hall; but at my command my two green goslings carried away the fragments without any difficulty.

Etymology

From Late Middle English goslyng (“gosling”), alteration (due to Middle English goos (“goose”)) of earlier gesling (“gosling”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse gæsling, géslingr (“gosling”), from gás (“goose”) + -lingr (“-ling”), equivalent to goose + -ling. Cognate with Danish gæsling (“gosling”), Swedish gässling (“gosling”). Compare also Low German gossel, gössel (“gosling”), German Gänslein (“gosling”).

This word in other languages

ansarón(Español)oison(Français)Gänseküken(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ggosling
  • golsing
  • gosilng
  • goslign
  • goslingg
  • goslinng
  • goslling
  • goslnig
  • gossling
  • gsoling
  • ogsling

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of gosling - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

ggosling1golsing2gosilng2goslign2goslingg1goslinng1goslling1goslnig2
Edit distance from "gosling"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "gosling"?
"gosling" is spelled G-O-S-L-I-N-G. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈɡɒzlɪŋ/.
What does "gosling" mean?
As a noun, "gosling" means: A young goose.
What words are commonly confused with "gosling"?
"gosling" is commonly confused with "gushing", "gouging", "gusting". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "gosling"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "gosling" is /ˈɡɒzlɪŋ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "gosling"?
From Late Middle English goslyng (“gosling”), alteration (due to Middle English goos (“goose”)) of earlier gesling (“gosling”), of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse gæsling, géslingr (“gosling”), from gás (“goose”) + -lingr (“-ling”), equivale... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "gosling", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

gentile#27,851halting#27,864Hampden#27,866frosted#27,845

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

Gutierrez11 variantshydrate11 variantsFederico11 variantsfaintly11 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list