The noun “gander” is often heard in sentences such as “I’ll take a gander at it.”

I wondered about this use of the noun, so I checked a dictionary.

The primary meaning of “gander” is male of any goose species.

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, the slang use of “gander” to mean glance comes from the image of someone taking a long look, as if craning his or her neck like a goose (or sex-specifically a gander).

Apparently this slang use of “gander” was first recorded in 1887.

I then wondered why “gander” instead of “goose” — which specifically refers to the female of any goose species — became popular as the slang form of the noun “glance”, so I did some more research.

Apparently “I’ll take a goose at it.” did not have a chance because seven years earlier — in 1880 — the slang use of “goose” as a poke between the buttocks to startle first appeared.

Conclusion: Be sure you know your “goose” from your “gander” when using these words in slang!