moose

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English

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moose

Etymology

From North-Eastern Algonquian language, perhaps Eastern Abenaki or Narragansett, mos (or something similar; Proto-Algonquian *mōswa), possibly meaning "he strips off [bark]."[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

Noun

Singular
moose

Plural
moose, (chiefly humorous) meese, (dated, rare) mooses

moose (plural moose, (chiefly humorous) meese, (dated, rare) mooses)

  1. (US) The largest member of the deer family (Alces alces), of which the male has very large, palmate antlers.
    We saw two moose at the edge of the woods by the marsh.

Usage notes

A discussion of the plural forms of moose
  • The use of moose in the plural is sometimes problematic. The regularly-formed plural, mooses, is by now rare and its use may be regarded as irksome and uneuphonious. The form meese -- formed by analogy with goose → geese -- will in most cases be greeted with a snigger, and is thus generally only appropriate in humorous contexts; even pragmatics notwithstanding, because moose has Algonquian origins -- wholly unrelated to the Germanic roots of goose, on whose pattern the plural meese is formed -- a strong declension plural form is etymologically inconsistent. The etymologically-consistent plural form would be *mosinee -- after which Mosinee Creek of Gogebic County, Michigan is named[1] -- but this plural form sees no use in English. In ordinary common usage, moose is treated as an invariant noun, which means its plural is also moose (as with the names of many animals, such as deer and fish, which are also invariant); however, this usage can sometimes be considered stilted when a group of more than one moose are considered individually, in which case avoidance of the plural may be the best option, necessitating the employment of a circumlocution, as above.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

largest member of the deer family (Alces alces)

References

  • Notes:
  1. ^ 1986: Virgil J. Vogel, Indian Names in Michigan, page 105 (University of Michigan Press; ISBN 0472063650, 978-0472063659)
    Mosinee Creek in Gogebic County has its name from the plural word for "moose". The name moose is of eastern Algonquian origin and signifies "eater", for the animal's browsing habit.3

Ojibwe

Noun

moose (plural: mooseg)

  1. worm
  2. caterpillar

Inflection

  • mooseg (plural)
  • moosen (obviative)
  • mooseng (locative)
  • moosens (diminutive)
    • moosenseg (plural)
    • moosensen (obviative)
    • moosenseng (locative)
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Prenoun

moose- (lexical)

moose= (vowel root)

  1. worm

Derived terms

moose-

Transformations
  • moose= (unaffected)
  • mwaase= (initial change)
  • maamoose= (reduplication)

Scots

Noun

moose (plural mooses)

Singular
moose

Plural
mooses
  1. mouse
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