Anser (anser)

[L., a goose, orig. * hanser, = G. gans = AS. gōs, E. goose, q. v.] 1. A genus of lamellirostral palmiped birds; the geese. The name is used with varying latitude, sometimes as conterminous with the modern subfamily Anserinæ, but oftener of late restricted to the typical species resembling the domestic goose, such as the Anser cinereus or Anser albifrons of Europe. See goose. 2. In astron., a small star in the Milky Way, between the Swan and the Eagle. An ser an as (an-ser-a'nas), n. [NL. (Le on, 1828),