moose
/muːs/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.61 in modern English
7
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
1
Syllables
4
Unique Chars
Meaning
noun
The largest member of the deer family (Alces americanus, sometimes included in Alces alces), of which the male has very large, palmate antlers.
name
An English surname.
Example Sentences
- "We saw a moose at the edge of the woods."
- "Europe’s giant beavers lived at the same time as the first moose, Libralces gallicus."
- "In military bases in the rear areas it was common for soldiers to have a moose."
- "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.”"
Etymology
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”).
Origin
Word Breakdown
Usage
- Colloquial
- Derogatory
- American usage
- Slang