moss

moss
moss (n.) O.E. meos "moss," related to mos "bog," from P.Gmc. *musan (Cf. O.H.G. mios, Dan. mos, Ger. Moos), also in part from O.N. mosi "moss, bog," and M.L. mossa "moss," from the same Germanic source, from PIE *meus- "damp," with derivatives referring to swamps and swamp vegetation (Cf. L. muscus "moss," Lith. musai "mold, mildew," O.C.S. muchu "moss"). All the Germanic languages have the word in both senses, which is natural since moss is the characteristic plant of boggy places. It is impossible to say which sense is original.
Selden Moseþ þe Marbelston þat men ofte treden. ["Piers Plowman," 1362]
Scott (1805) revived 17c. moss-trooper "freebooter infesting Scottish border marshes."

Etymology dictionary. 2014.

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  • Moss — (m[o^]s; 115), n. [OE. mos; akin to AS. me[ o]s, D. mos, G. moos, OHG. mos, mios, Icel. mosi, Dan. mos, Sw. mossa, Russ. mokh , L. muscus. Cf. {Muscoid}.] 1. (Bot.) A cryptogamous plant of a cellular structure, with distinct stem and simple… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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  • Moss IL — Full name Moss Idrettslag Founded 1929 Ground Melløs Stadion Moss Moss Idrettslag is a Norwegian athletics club from Moss, founded in 1929. Moss IL uses the Melløs Stadion, which in 1983 got rubber track as t …   Wikipedia

  • Moss FK — Voller Name Moss Fotballklubb Gegründet 28. August 1906 Stadio …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • MOSS (R.) — Rosalind L. B. MOSS 1890 1990 Fille du révérend H. W. Moss, directeur de l’école de Shrewsburg (sur le Severn, Angleterre), miss Rosalind Moss, née en septembre 1890, a achevé à Oxford, presque centenaire, une exceptionnelle carrière de… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • moss|y — «MS ee, MOS », adjective, moss|i|er, moss|i|est. 1. covered with moss or a mosslike substance: »a mossy bank. A wood of mossy distorted trees (Francis Parkman). 2. like moss: » …   Useful english dictionary

  • moss — moss; moss·berry; moss·er; moss·ery; moss·ite; moss·man; …   English syllables

  • moss — [môs, mäs] n. [ME mos, a bog, moss < OE, a swamp, akin to ON mosi, Ger moos, a bog, moss < IE * meus (> L muscus, moss) < base * meu , moist] 1. a) any of various classes (esp. Bryopsida) of very small, green bryophytes having stems… …   English World dictionary

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