Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

moccasin

/ˈmɑkəsɪn/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.30 in modern English

Syllables
moc-ca-sin
IPA
/ˈmɑkəsɪn/
14
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A traditional Native North American shoe, usually without a heel or sole, made of a piece of deerskin or other soft leather turned up at the edges which are either stitched together at the top of the shoe, or sewn to a vamp (a piece covering the top of the foot).

noun

A modern shoe with either a low or no heel resembling a traditional Native American moccasin in that the leather forming the sides of the shoe is stitched at the top.

noun

A light beige colour, like that of a moccasin.

noun

Any of several North American snakes of the genus Agkistrodon, particularly the copperhead (Agkistrodon contortrix) and the cottonmouth or water moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorus).

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Powhatan makasin, mockasin, mawhcasuns (plural), from Proto-Algonquian *maxkeseni. The word is cognate with Massachusett mohkisson, mokussin, Mi'kmaq mksɨn, Munsee mahkusin, Ojibwe makizin. First appears c. 1612 in the writings of John Smith. It has been suggested that sense 4 (“North American snake”) may be derived from a different Native American word.

Word Breakdown

  • Root: makasin, *maxkeseni

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈmɑkəsɪn/
  • British English: /ˈmɒkəsɪn/

Inflected Forms

moccasins (plural) mocassin (alternative) moccassin (alternative)

Derived Forms

moc moccasined soccasin

Phrases

American moccasin Asiatic moccasin black moccasin Chinese moccasin copperhead moccasin cottonmouth moccasin driving moccasin dry-land moccasin

Synonyms

moc mocassin

Questions

How do you pronounce moccasin?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈmɑkəsɪn/.
What does moccasin mean?
A traditional Native North American shoe, usually without a heel or sole, made of a piece of deerskin or other soft leather turned up at the edges which are either stitched together at the top of the shoe, or sewn to a vamp (a piece covering the top of the foot).
Where does moccasin come from?
From Powhatan makasin, mockasin, mawhcasuns (plural), from Proto-Algonquian *maxkeseni. The word is cognate with Massachusett mohkisson, mokussin, Mi'kmaq mksɨn, Munsee mahkusin, Ojibwe makizin. First appears c. 1612 in the writings of John Smith. It has been suggested that sense 4 (“North American snake”) may be derived from a different Native American word.

How to pronounce moccasin

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “moccasin”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈmɑkəsɪn/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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  4. Repeat and practice — Say “moccasin” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.