moose

See also: Moose

English

WOTD – 15 October 2011
moose

Etymology 1

Earlier mus, moos, from a Northeastern Algonquian language name for the animal, such as Massachusett moos, mws, Narragansett moos or Penobscot mos (cognate to Abenaki moz), from Proto-Algonquian *mo·swa (“it strips”), referring to how a moose strips tree bark when feeding: compare Massachusett moos-u (“he strips, cuts smooth”).[1][2]

Pronunciation

  • enPR: mo͞os, IPA(key): /muːs/
  • Audio (US)(file)
  • Rhymes: -uːs
  • Homophone: mousse

Noun

moose (plural moose or (dated) mooses)

  1. (US) The largest member of the deer family (Alces alces), of which the male has very large, palmate antlers.
    We saw a moose at the edge of the woods.
  2. (informal) An ugly person
Usage notes
  • The usual plural of moose is moose; compare the names of many animals, such as deer and fish, which are also invariant. Other plurals are rare and nonstandard: mooses (with the usual English plural-forming suffix -s), meese (jocularly formed by analogy to goose → geese).[3]
Synonyms
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
See also

Etymology 2

From Dutch moes.

Noun

moose (plural mooses)

  1. (obsolete, rare) A stew.

References

  1. ↑ Online Etymology Dictionary
  2. ↑ “moose” in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.
  3. ↑ The living Algonquian languages, for their part, pluralize the term with their reflexes of the Algonquian plural sufix -ak, e.g. Abenaki moz, mozak.

Ojibwe

Noun

moose (plural mooseg)

  1. worm
  2. caterpillar

Scots

moose

Etymology

From Middle English mous, from Old English mūs, from Proto-Germanic *mūs, from Proto-Indo-European *muh₂s.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [mus]

Noun

moose (plural mice)

  1. mouse
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