'goose-shaped' originates from English, formed by combining the noun 'goose' and the adjectival element '-shaped', where 'goose' meant 'the bird' and '-shaped' meant 'having the shape of'.

'goose' comes from Old English 'gōs' (plural 'gēs'), from Proto-Germanic '*gans-' (and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots for the bird). 'Shape' derives from Old English forms related to 'gesceap' meaning 'form, creation' (from Proto-Germanic '*skapiz'). The construction using a past-participle-like suffix '-shaped' developed in Modern English to form compound adjectives (e.g., 'heart-shaped', 'arrow-shaped'), producing compounds such as 'goose-shaped'.

Individually, 'goose' originally referred to the bird and 'shape' to form; combined as 'goose-shaped' the phrase evolved to mean 'having the form of a goose' and is used descriptively of objects or silhouettes.