When there are a lot of mooses, why don't we call them meese like geese?

Question

When there are a lot of mooses, why don't we call them meese like geese?

Answer 1

The plural of moose is "moose," not "meese", although the latter is sometimes jokingly used due to the fact that the plural of goose is "geese". The plural for moose is also NOT "mooses" or "moosen."

Answer 2

If the plural of mouse is mice, shouldn't the plural of moose be meese? Actually, no. The plural of moose is actually "moose."

There is no consistent rule in English for changing "oose" into "eese." (Look at moose, for instance.) "Moose" in particular was probably troublesome due to sound and perhaps because we brought it in directly from another language. Webster's says it is from the Algonquians. (Maybe it was the same singular and plural in the Native American language it delineated from???) Don't expect rules in English to hold very well. They don't, and I think that is in part because we have derived our language from so many different sources. "Oose" to "eese" is not even a rule, so don't look for that to be a real trend in the language.

Answer 3

and why is it mouse - mice; louse - lice, house - not hice?

Answer 4

English is a weird language, isn't it?

Answer 5

For the same reason good, wood and food don't sound the same.