Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A large deer (Alces alces) of northern North American and Eurasian forests, having a broad pendulous muzzle, humped shoulders, and large, palmate antlers in the male.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun The Alaskan moose has been described as a new species, Alces gigas, distinguished by its larger teeth and antlers, and by other characteristics.
- noun An animal of the family Cervidæ, the Cervus alces or Alces malchis of those who hold that it is the same as the elk of Europe; the moose-deer of America, by some considered specifically distinct from the elk of Europe, and then called
Alces americana .
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Zoöl.) A large cervine mammal (
Alces alces syn.Alces machlis , synAlces Americanus ), native of the Northern United States and Canada. The adult male is about as large as a horse, and has very large, palmate antlers. It closely resembles the European elk, and by many zoölogists is considered the same species. Seeelk . - noun Obsolescent. Cant, from the early 1900's. A member of the Progressive Party; a Bull Moose.
- noun A member of the fraternal organization named Loyal Order of Moose.
- noun (Zoöl.) the Canada jayor whisky jack. See
Whisky jack . - noun Same as
Moose . - noun (Zoöl.) a locality where moose, in winter, herd together in a forest to feed and for mutual protection.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun obsolete, rare A
stew . - noun US The largest member of the
deer family (Alces alces ), of which the male has very large,palmate antlers . - noun Plural form of
moose .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called `elk' in Europe and `moose' in North America
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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'As I sat before the fire on my fir-twig seat, without walls above or around me, I remembered how far on every hand that wilderness stretched, before you came to cleared or cultivated fields, and wondered if any bear or moose was watching the light of my fire; for nature looked sternly upon me on account of the _murder of the moose_.
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 6, No 2, August, 1864 Devoted to Literature and National Policy Various
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The Europeans in Ceylon know it by the name of the "moose deer;" and in all probability the terms _musk_ and _moose_ are both corruptions of the
Sketches of the Natural History of Ceylon James Emerson Tennent 1836
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It's a little scary (the moose is the worst of it -- even trumps bear) but these sorts of things leave you alone unless you surprise them.
Back from Camping wendigomountain 2008
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But the moose is a sweetei (not so much though if they munch on your garden ...).
Recipe for Beet Soup (Παντζαρόσουπα) Laurie Constantino 2008
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Nikkinen believes the moose is a youngster, about a year and a half old. ...
Archive 2007-05-01 2007
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According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the correct plural of "moose" is "moose."
Tallulah Morehead: Survivor 21: Infants vs Senior Citizens : Triage for Dummies. Tallulah Morehead 2010
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According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the correct plural of "moose" is "moose."
Tallulah Morehead: Survivor 21: Infants vs Senior Citizens : Triage for Dummies. Tallulah Morehead 2010
-
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the correct plural of "moose" is "moose."
Tallulah Morehead: Survivor 21: Infants vs Senior Citizens: Triage for Dummies. Tallulah Morehead 2010
-
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the correct plural of "moose" is "moose."
Tallulah Morehead: Survivor 21: Infants vs Senior Citizens : Triage for Dummies. Tallulah Morehead 2010
-
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the correct plural of "moose" is "moose."
Tallulah Morehead: Survivor 21: Infants vs Senior Citizens : Triage for Dummies. Tallulah Morehead 2010
skipvia commented on the word moose
This young lady is outside my window right now.
October 8, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word moose
AWWWW!! Good pic!
October 8, 2008
skipvia commented on the word moose
Her brother was nearby but wasn't cooperating with me.
October 8, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word moose
*marvels*
Do you have this experience often, skipvia? (Having moose outside your window, I mean.)
October 8, 2008
skipvia commented on the word moose
If they don't come and check out our garden at least weekly, we worry about them. I just happened to have my camera out when these dropped by. (They were eating the remains of the garden that we pulled up last week when it snowed a bit.)
Our cat once chased two moose from our back yard.
October 8, 2008
trivet commented on the word moose
Skipvia, your cat is pretty much awesome.
*Looks wistfully out the window for a moose*
October 8, 2008
skipvia commented on the word moose
That cat was fearless. Utterly fearless. But not very bright.
October 8, 2008
skipvia commented on the word moose
I should mention, lest you think that moose are weenies, that I have seen a cow moose back a brown bear about 200 yards up a ravine to protect her calf.
October 8, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word moose
Well, if I'd known her calf was there, I would certainly have avoided the place.
October 8, 2008
skipvia commented on the word moose
No moose worth her dewlap would try and face you down, c_b. :-)
October 8, 2008
trivet commented on the word moose
A classmate of mine in high school accidentally got between a mother otter and her babies at the swimming hole. There were many stitches.
October 8, 2008
reesetee commented on the word moose
*wishes moose would wander the yard here in PA*
Skip, didn't you also mention here on Wordie a moose crossing your driveway? Wait...ah, yes. It was at ungulate.
October 8, 2008
bilby commented on the word moose
She otter been more careful, triv.
October 8, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word moose
Oh no, skipvia, I would never face down a moose. (Especially not, you know... *jingles chains*) I'm generally kindly in my dun-brown gown of fur and my tiara.
Otters tend to flee at my approach though. I don't know if it's the smell, or... *shrugs*
Trivet... what happened, exactly?
October 8, 2008
trivet commented on the word moose
The otters were going one way and she was going the other. By the time she realized she had interrupted the otter swimming lessons and turned around, it was too late. The mother otter saw a giant pink thing heading for her babies and attacked. The otter backed off and took her family to an elsewhere once my friend got out of the way. People helped her out of the river and got her to the hospital for stitches and a rabies shot. She's got a scar on her shoulder and a story to tell. I don't know what happened to the otters. My classmate's father vowed vengeance, but I never heard if he was successful. I hope the otters just moved upstream and continued their otter business.
Otters are some of my favorite animals, but I keep my distance, no matter how cuddly Gavin Maxwell makes them seem.
October 8, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word moose
Ooh, gosh, that is scary. I missed the part about it being IN the swimming hole so I was imagining a terrestrial attack. Thanks for your patient explanation...
October 8, 2008
dontcry commented on the word moose
I think I have an otter recipe in my fabulous US Regional Cookbook. Let's see.... Nope. That's opossum. Sorry.
October 9, 2008
skipvia commented on the word moose
Not to change to subject, but does anyone actually pronounce the "o" in opossum?
October 9, 2008
yarb commented on the word moose
I do; well, I say "uh-poss'm".
October 9, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word moose
I say "possum," skip, and furthermore I recall reading something somewhere at some point saying that it's the general pronunciation to omit the "o." (Not that that detailed and really thoughtful statement is of any use whatsoever.)
October 9, 2008
dontcry commented on the word moose
I say O-possum. Then I giggle.
October 9, 2008
reesetee commented on the word moose
I say the O. I think it's a law here.
October 9, 2008
rolig commented on the word moose
My apologies for interrupting the conversation, but I can't restrain myself from citing part of one of my favorite poems from one of my favorite poets. The poem is fairly long and I encourage everyone to read the whole thing. The poet describes – amazingly and beautifully – a long bus trip at night through New Brunswick. About four fifths of the way through the poem, the bus makes an unexpected stop:
.........................
Now, it's all right now
even to fall asleep
just as on all those nights.
– Suddenly the bus driver
stops with a jolt,
turns off the lights.
A moose has come out of
the impenetrable wood
and stands there, looms, rather,
in the middle of the road.
It approaches; it sniffs at
the bus's hot hood.
Towering, antlerless,
high as a church,
homely as a house
(or, safe as houses).
A man's voice assures us
"Perfectly harmless. . . ."
Some of the passengers
exclaim in whispers,
childishly, softly,
"Sure are big creatures."
"It's awfully plain."
"Look! It's a she!"
Taking her time,
she looks the bus over,
grand, otherworldly.
Why, why do we feel
(we all feel) this sweet
sensation of joy?
"Curious creatures,"
says our quiet driver,
rolling his r's.
"Look at that, would you."
Then he shifts gears.
For a moment longer,
by craning backward,
the moose can be seen
on the moonlit macadam;
then there's a dim
smell of moose, an acrid
smell of gasoline.
– the last part of "The Moose," by Elizabeth Bishop
October 9, 2008
yarb commented on the word moose
That poem's a favourite of mine too, rolig.
October 9, 2008
skipvia commented on the word moose
Hey. I know a moose poem, too.
Moose Goosers
How about them Moose goosers, Ain't they recluse?
Up in them boondocks, goosin' them moose.
Goosin' them huge moose, goosin' them tiny,
Goosin them medlin' moose in they hinny!
Look at them Moose goosers, Ain't they dumb?
Some use an umbrella, some use they thumb.
Them obtuse Moose goosers, sneakin' through the woods,
pokin' they snoozey moose in they goods,
How to be a Moose gooser? It'll turn you puce;
Get your gooser loose, and rouse a drowsy moose!
-Mason Williams, The Mason Williams Reading Matter
October 9, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word moose
It's AWESOME.
October 9, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word moose
CRAP! I just realized I've been calling elk (British name) this animal for six months, here in America*, and people did not understand me because they thought I was talking about wapitis... that are also known as elks in the US. Oops.
(*I'm involved in a project that deals with them.)
October 9, 2008
john commented on the word moose
I lived in Maine for over a decade all told, and I never saw a moose, not once. And I spent a *lot* of time outdoors—frequently at Moosehead Lake. People were constantly telling me, "oh, you just missed this giant moose!" It was galling.
So now you too, eh Skipvia? Even WeirdNet is in on it. You can only fool me for so long about these "moose." Moose are apocryphal.
October 9, 2008
asativum commented on the word moose
What self-respecting moose would go to Moosehead Lake? Kind of creepy if you're of the moosine persuasion, I would think.
October 9, 2008
skipvia commented on the word moose
This just wouldn't look right with a moose in place of the elk, Pro.
Actually, it looks kind of creepy with the elk, too.
October 9, 2008
skipvia commented on the word moose
Apocryphal is a pretty decent word to describe moose, John, since they look as if they were put together from random ungulate parts with no overall design in mind. But when you see one maneuver in deep snow, they begin to make sense.
I can't believe you lived in Maine and never saw one. The trails around Katahdin are crowded with them.
October 9, 2008
reesetee commented on the word moose
The Bippo! Thanks for that, skip! You know, though, I had no idea that elk also had clock hands sprouting from their heads. Learn something new every day.
Rolig, thanks for the poem fragment--Bishop is a favorite of mine too. :-)
October 9, 2008
yarb commented on the word moose
Looks like this moose has managed to supplant Jean Dimmock at the top of the most-commented list. Well done, moose!
October 10, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word moose
Ἄνδ�?α μοι ἔννεπε, Moose...
February 21, 2009