Etymology
They get their name from geese. Goose feathers grow from stores in the epidermis which resemble human follicles. When a goose's feathers are plucked, its skin has protrusions where the feathers were, and it is these bumps which the human phenomenon resembles.
It is not clear why in English the particular fowl goose was chosen, as most other birds share this same anatomical feature. Some authors have applied "goose bumps" to the symptoms of sexually-transmitted diseases. Certainly being "bitten by a Winchester goose" was a common euphemism for syphilis in the 16th century. "Winchester geese" was the nickname for the prostitutes of South London, licenced by the Bishop of Winchester in the area around his London palace.
However, this seductive etymology does not explain why other languages use the same bird as English. "Goose skin" is used in German (Gänsehaut), Italian (pelle d'oca), Russian (гусиная кожа), Ukrainian (гусяча шкіра), Polish (gęsia skórka), Czech (husí kůže), Slovak (husia koža), Danish (gåsehud), Latvian (zosāda) and Hungarian (libabőr). In other languages, however, the "goose" may be replaced by other kinds of poultry. For instance, "hen" is used in Spanish (piel de gallina), Portuguese (pele de galinha), Romanian (piele de găină) and French (chair de poule). "Chicken" is used in Dutch (kippenvel), Chinese (雞皮疙瘩, lit. lumps on chicken skin), Finnish (kananliha), Afrikaans (hoendervleis) and Korean (닭살, daksal). In Hindi/Urdu it is called rongtey khade ho jaana. The equivalent Japanese term, 鳥肌, torihada, translates literally as "bird skin". In Arabic, it is called kash'arirah, in Hebrew it is called simply "duck skin" (עור ברווז).
The same effect is manifested in the root word "horror" in English, which is derived from Latin horrere, which means "to bristle", and "be horrified", because of the accompanying hair reaction.
Read more about this topic: Goose Bumps
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
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—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)