The meaning of the word "goat" in its literal sense is known and understandable, perhaps, to every person. But it turns out that this is not the end of the matter. "Goat" is a word that has many other interpretations. It is used, for example, as a swear word, as a slang term, as an aviation term. Consider the shades of its meanings in more detail.
Polysemy of the term
There are many meanings of the word "goat" in dictionaries. These include the following:
- Horned male domestic or wild ruminant, which belongs to the class of mammals and the family of bovids. (Sasha found information in the encyclopedia that the Siberian mountain goat is the main prey of snow leopards).
- In sports, a gymnastic apparatus used to perform a vault, which differs from a horse in that it is shorter in length and has no handles. (Andrey was utterly upset - at the physical education lesson he once again could not jump over the goat).
- In metallurgy - the name of the solidified iron, which remained on the walls of the blast furnaceovens. (The master explained to the students: “It is no wonder that after thirty years of work in the hearth of a blast furnace, over time, a build-up weighing 300 tons was formed, and it is called a “goat”).
- In aviation, a term similar to "goat", which refers to the jump of an aircraft during its landing. (Despite the experience of the pilot, landing still failed to avoid a high-speed goat.)
- One of the chemical engineering terms that is used to describe the defects that form during the production of molded plexiglass is similar to the term "fisheye". (Unfortunately, the last batch of plexiglass was not without a goat).
- One of the variants of the symbols of Satan in devilmania. (On his left forearm, the guy had a tattoo depicting Baphomet, which is the official symbol of the Church of Satan, which is popularly called a goat.)
However, the ambiguity of the word we are considering does not end there. But it is already in a slightly different area than those discussed above - this is the "colloquial genre" and jargon.
Men's talk
Among other meanings, "goats" appear before us in the following guises:
- Figuratively, this is a swear word that denotes a slow-witted, mean, and very unpleasant person. (Marina instructed her son in a stern voice: “Remember, Yura, even if a person is unpleasant to you, he did something bad to you - this is not a reason to stoop to his level and call him a goat.”
- So called Soviet car withoff-road GAZ-69, as well as UAZ-469. (Finally, the right ad was found in the newspaper: “I am selling a frame for GAZ-69 (goat), we will agree on a price”).
- The name of the game of dominoes and also cards. (An article on the Internet said that learning to play domino goat is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance.)
- The name of the person who lost the specified game. (Sergey is already tired of being in the goats, and he decided to quit playing dominoes for today).
Plural
When this word is used in the plural - "goats", it also means the following:
- The front part of the horse-drawn carriage on which the coachman sits. (“Sanka, don’t sleep, move, get on the goats quickly, otherwise we’ll be late,” the lady went bankrupt.)
- Construction tool used when working at low heights. (“Guys, be careful on the goats there, the height is still rather big,” the elderly foreman carefully admonished the builders).
- A device used for sawing firewood. (After spreading firewood on the goats and busily rubbing his hands, the squat peasant got ready to prepare firewood for the winter).
- A device that is used when driving on roads that do not have a hard surface. (Cattle rolls, called goats, are used on country roads.)
Phraseologisms
Let's give examples of phraseological units and set phrases with the studied word:
- Speedy(speedless) goat - in aviation, the jump of an aircraft during landing approach at an increased (reduced or normal) speed.
- Stand on a goat is a colloquial, slang expression for raising the front wheels of a vehicle - a car, a bicycle, a motorcycle.
- To fight a goat - in common parlance, to sing clumsily, in an unpleasant voice.
- Killing the goat is slang for playing dominoes.
- Like milk from a goat - a saying denoting the lack of benefits, returns.
- Local goat is a technical term for a partial collapse that occurred in a reactor core.
- Letting a goat into the garden is a saying hinting that it is undesirable to allow a person to go where he can act in his own selfish interests.
- Construction goat - see above.
Scapegoat
Let's consider separately the widespread expression "scapegoat", the meaning of which, however, is not clear to everyone. This phrase, taken from the Old Testament, implies that in this case the goat is a special animal. After a symbolic Jewish ritual, during which the sins of the whole people were laid on him, he was taken to the desert.
Christian theologians, for example, John the Baptist, can find an interpretation of this phrase as a prototype of the self-sacrifice of Jesus Christ, called the Lamb of God and taking upon himself all the sins of the world of his own free will. Today they say this about a person whom they want to make guilty without guilt.
