moose

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See also: Moose

English

WOTD – 15 October 2011
A moose.

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Earlier mus, moos, from an Eastern 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]

Noun

moose (plural moose or (dated, rare) mooses or (non-standard, jocular) meese)

  1. (US, Canada) The largest member of the deer family (Alces americanus, sometimes included in Alces alces), of which the male has very large, palmate antlers.
    We saw a moose at the edge of the woods.
  2. Any of the extinct moose-like deer of the genera Cervalces and Libralces.
    • 2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 152:
      Europe’s giant beavers lived at the same time as the first moose, Libralces gallicus.
  3. (figuratively, derogatory, colloquial) An ugly person.
Usage notes
  • The usual plural of moose is moose; compare the names of many animals, such as sheep, deer and fish, which are also invariant.
  • Other plurals are rare and non-standard: mooses (with the usual English plural-forming suffix -s) and meese (jocularly formed by analogy to goose → geese).
Synonyms
Derived terms
Descendants
Translations
See also

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Japanese むすめ (“girl”).

Noun

moose

  1. (US, military, slang) An Asian girl taken as a lover.
    • 2005, Rupert Nelson, Like the Rings of a Tree, page 279:
      In military bases in the rear areas it was common for soldiers to have a moose.
    • 2011, Michael Cullen Green, Black Yanks in the Pacific, page 75:
      Even the lowest ranked serviceman, because of his salary, benefits, and status as an American occupationaire, could afford to “maintain a 'Moose' and still take care of his other obligations.

References

  1. ^ Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “moose”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
  2. ^ “moose”, in Dictionary.com Unabridged, Dictionary.com, LLC, 1995–present.

Ojibwe

Noun

moose (plural mooseg)

  1. worm
  2. caterpillar

Scots

moose

Etymology

From Middle English mous.

Pronunciation

Noun

moose (plural mice)

  1. mouse
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