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Added 9 October 2026

moose

/muːs/ noun

In Latin: alcēs Wiktionary

noun Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about moose at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called `elk' in Europe and `moose' in North America.

Origin

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”).

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

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