moss

See also: MOSS, Moss, and möss

English

Etymology

From Middle English mos, from Old English mos (“bog, marsh, moss”), from Proto-West Germanic *mos (“marsh, moss”), from Proto-Germanic *musą (“marsh, moss”), from Proto-Indo-European *mews- (“moss”).

Cognate with Saterland Frisian Moas (“moss”), West Frisian moas (“moss”), Dutch mos (“moss”), German Low German Moss (“moss”), German Moos (“moss”), Danish mos (“moss”), Swedish mossa (“moss”), Icelandic mosi (“moss”), Latin muscus (“moss”), Russian мох (mox, “moss”), Polish mech. Doublet of mousse.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /mɒs/
• (US) enPR: môs, IPA^(key): /mɔs/
• (cot–caught merger, Canada) enPR: mäs, IPA^(key): /mɑs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɒs
• Rhymes: -ɔːs

Noun

moss (countable and uncountable, plural mosses)

1. Any of various small, green, seedless plants growing on the ground or on the surfaces of trees, stones, etc.; now specifically, a plant of the phylum Bryophyta (formerly division Musci).

   Hypernym: bryophyte

2. (countable) A kind or species of such plants.
3. (informal) Any alga, lichen, bryophyte, or other plant of seemingly simple structure.

   Hyponyms: alga, cryptogam, lichen

   Spanish moss

   Irish moss

   club moss

4. (now chiefly UK regional) A bog; a fen.

   the mosses of the Scottish border

Usage notes

• The plural form mosses is used when more than one kind of moss is meant. The singular moss is used referring to a collection of moss plants of the same kind.

Derived terms

• American moss (Tillandsia usneoides)
• animal moss (Bryozoa)
• apple moss
• apple-moss (Bartramia spp.)
• arctic moss (Cladonia rangiferina)
• a rolling stone gathers no moss
• Ashton Moss
• ball moss (Tillandsia recurvata)
• beard moss (Usnea spp., Schistidium apocarpum et al)
• bear moss (Polytrichum juniperinum)
• besom moss (Polytrichum juniperinum)
• bird's-nest moss (Selaginella lepidophylla)
• black moss (Tillandsia usneoides)
• blanket moss (Spirogyra spp, Cladophora spp.)
• bog moss (Sphagnum moss, Mayaca plant)
• bristle moss
• broom moss (Dicranum scoparium)
• Canary moss (Parmelia perlata, now Parmotrema perlatum)
• caribou moss (Cladonia rangiferina)
• carrageen moss (Chondrus crispus)
• cedar moss (Ceratophyllum demersum)
• ceratodon moss (Ceratodon spp.)
• Ceylon moss (Plocaria candida?, Gracilaria lichenoides)
• chalice moss (Cladonia)
• chin-cough moss (Cladonia)
• Christmas moss (Vesicularia montagnei)
• club moss, club-moss, club-foot moss (Lycopodiaceae)
• common moss (Polytrichum commune)
• coral moss (Nertera granadensis)
• cord moss (Funaria spp.)
• Cornish path moss (Ditrichum cornubicum)
• Corsican moss (Alsidium helminthochorton)
• crape moss (Tillandsia usneoides)
• cup moss
• cup-moss (Cladonia)
• cypress moss (Hypnum cupressiforme; Lycopodium alpinum)
• ditch moss (Elodea spp.)
• draw moss (Eriophorum vaginatum)
• duck moss (Potamogeton pectinatus)
• dyer's moss (Rocella tinctoria)
• elf-cap moss
• enmoss
• fairy moss
• feather moss (Hyphnum spp. et al)
• fern moss (Thuidium spp.)
• film moss (Hymenostomum)
• fire moss (Ceratodon purpureus)
• fir moss (Lycopodium selago)
• Florida moss (Tillandsia usneoides)
• flowering moss (Pyxidanthera barbulata; Portulaca grandiflora; (Sedum pulchellum)
• fountain apple moss
• fountain moss (Fontinalis spp.; Philonotis fontana)
• giant moss (Dawsonia spp.)
• gold moss/golden moss (Sedum acre)
• gold spoon moss (Calliergon richardsonii)
• granite moss (Chondrus crispus)
• gray moss (Tillandsia usneoides; Usnea spp.)
• haircap moss (Polytrichum juniperinum)
• hair moss, hairy moss (Polytrichum)
• hanging moss (Tillandsia usneoides)
• head moss (Usnea spp., Schistidium apocarpum et al)
• heath-moss (Polytrichum)
• hoary fringe moss
• horned moss (Asplenium septentrionale)
• house moss
• Iceland moss (Cetraria islandica)
• idle-moss
• Indian feather moss (Timmia megapolitana)
• Irish moss (Chondrus crispus)
• Jaffna moss (Umbilicaria murina, Umbilicaria grisea)
• Java moss (Taxiphyllum barbieri, Vesicularia dubyana)
• long moss (Tillandsia usneoides)
• luminous moss (Schistostega osmundacea)
• lung moss (esp. Pulmonaria officinalis)
• maidenhair moss (Alectoria sarmentosa, Fissidens adianthoides)
• miners moss
• miner's moss
• miners' moss
• moss agate
• moss-agate
• moss animal, moss animalcule (Bryozoa)
• moss-back, mossback
• moss-backed, mossbacked, mossy-backed
• moss-bag
• moss-bank
• Moss Bank
• Moss Bank
• moss-basket
• moss bass (Micropterus salmoides)
• moss bee (Bombus muscorum)
• moss berry, mossberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos, Empetrum nigrum) (Canada))
• mossbluiter (Botaurinae)
• moss-box
• moss bug
• moss bush (Cassiope hypnoides)
• moss campion (Silene acaulis)
• moss carder, moss-carder bee (Bombus muscorum)
• moss-cheeper (Anthus pratensis; Emberiza schoeniclus)
• moss-copper (Mielichhoferia spp.)
• moss coral (Bryozoa)
• moss corn (Argentina anserina, syn. Potentilla anserina)
• moss crab (Loxorhynchus crispatus)
• moss crêpe
• moss crop (Eriophorum vaginatum; Eriophorum polystachion; Argentina anserina, syn. Potentilla anserina; Eleocharis palustris, syn. Scirpus caespitosus)
• moss duck (Anas platyrhynchos)
• moss-earth
• mossed
• mossen
• mosser
• mossery
• moss fern (Polypodium)
• moss-fiber, moss-fibre
• moss-flow
• moss forest
• moss frog (Rhacophoridae)
• mossful
• moss gold (Clavaria muscoides, now Clavulinopsis corniculata)
• moss green
• moss-grown, mossgrown
• moss-hag, moss-hagg
• moss-hagger
• moss hair
• moss-head
• moss horn
• moss-house
• mossify
• mossland
• moss lawn
• mossless
• mosslike
• moss-litter
• moss locust
• moss-locust (Robinia hispida)
• moss mite
• moss-oak
• moss opal
• moss-peat
• moss phlox (Phlox subulata)
• moss piglet
• moss pink (Phlox subulata)
• mossplant (Cassiope hypnoides)
• moss-polyp (Bryozoa)
• moss-rake
• moss-reeve
• moss rose (Portulaca grandiflora)
• moss-rush (Juncus bryoides, Juncus squarrosus)
• moss saxifrage
• moss-seat
• moss-starch
• moss stitch
• moss-tenant
• moss-trooper
• mosstroopery
• moss-trooping
• moss whin (Genista anglica)
• moss willow (Salix musca)
• moss-wood
• moss-work
• mossy
• muskeag moss (Sphagnum spp.)
• oak moss (Evernia prunastri)
• old moss
• pearl moss (Chondrus crispus)
• peat moss (Sphagnum)
• pigeon-wheat moss (Polytrichum)
• pine-moss
• pixie moss
• plume moss (Hypnum crista-castrensis
• purple horn toothed moss (Ceratodon purpureus)
• rainbow moss (Selaginella uncinata)
• reindeer moss (Cladonia rangiferina)
• rock moss (Chondrus crispus)
• rose moss (Portulacca grandiflora)
• round-leaved feather-moss (Rhynchostegium rotundifolium)
• salt rock moss (Chondrus crispus)
• scale-moss (Jungermanniales)
• sea moss (Chondrus crispus, Gracilaria spp.)
• snake moss (Lycopodium clavatum)
• southern moss (Tillandsia usneoides)
• Spanish moss (Tillandsia usneoides)
• spike moss (Selaginellaceae)
• split moss (Andreaeales)
• springy turf moss (Rhytidiadelphus squarrosus)
• square goose-neck moss (Rhytidiadelphys squarrosus)
• staghorn moss, stag's horn moss (Lycopodium clavatum)
• starry thyme-moss/stellar calcareous moss (Mnium spp.)
• sun moss (Portulacca grandiflora)
• swamp moss (Sphagnum spp.)
• thrush moss (Peltigera apthosa)
• tree moss (esp. Climacium)
• Turk's-cap moss (Physcomitrium turbinatum)
• unmossed
• urn moss (Physcomitrium)
• velvet moss (Gyrophora muring)
• wall screw-moss
• warrior moss (Timmia megapolitana)
• water moss (Fontinalis spp.)
• white moss (Leucobryum)
• willow moss (Hypnaceae, possibly Taxiphyllum barbieri)
• wolf's moss (Letharia vulpina)
• woolly fringe moss
• worm moss (Alsidium helminthochorton)

 

Translations

plants of the division Bryophyta

• Aklanon: eumot
• Albanian: myshk (sq) m
• Arabic: أُشْنَة f (ʔušna), طُحْلُب m (ṭuḥlub)
• Armenian: մամուռ (hy) (mamuṙ)
• Aromanian: mushclju m
• Assamese: শেলাই (xelai), মছ (mos), মছ-শেলাই (mos-xelai)
• Azerbaijani: mamır (az)
• Bashkir: мүк (mük)
• Basque: goroldio
• Belarusian: мох m (mox)
• Bengali: শৈবাল (bn) (śōibal)
• Bikol Central: lumot (bcl)
• Bislama: nalumlum
• Breton: man (br)
• Brunei Malay: galugut
• Bulgarian: мъх m (mǎh)
• Burmese: ရေညှိ (my) (rehnyi.)
• Casiguran Dumagat Agta: lumot
• Catalan: molsa (ca) f
• Central Melanau: lumut
• Chichewa: ndere
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 青苔 (zh) (qīngtái), 苔蘚／苔藓 (zh) (táixiǎn)

• Chuvash: мӑк (măk)
• Czech: mech (cs) m
• Danish: mos (da) c
• Drung: mvchin
• Dupaningan Agta: lumot
• Dutch: mos (nl) n
• Eastern Cham: ꨒꨲꩄ (nhjưch)
• Esperanto: musko
• Estonian: sammal (et)
• Even: нямалра (ņamalra)
• Evenki: лалбука (lalbuka)
• Faroese: mosi m
• Fijian: lumi (fj)
• Finnish: sammal (fi)
• French: mousse (fr) f
• Friulian: muscli m
• Georgian: ხავსი (ka) (xavsi)
• German: Moos (de) n
• Greek: βρύο (el) n (vrýo), μούσκλο (el) n (moúsklo)

  Ancient: βρύον n (brúon)

• Greenlandic: issuatsiaq
• Hawaiian: limu
• Hebrew: טַחַב (he) m (t'kháv)
• Hindi: काई (hi) f (kāī), हरिता (hi) (haritā)
• Hungarian: moha (hu)
• Icelandic: mosi (is) m
• Ilocano: lumot
• Indonesian: lumut (id)
• Irish: caonach m
• Italian: muschio (it) m
• Japanese: 苔 (ja) (こけ, koke), コケ (koke), 蘚苔 (ja) (せんたい, sentai)
• Javanese: lumut (jv)
• Kazakh: мүк (mük)
• Khmer: ស្លែ (km) (slae)
• Komi-Permyak: рой (roj)
• Korean: 이끼 (ko) (ikki)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: hezaz (ku) m

• Kyrgyz: мох (moh), жосул (josul)
• Latgalian: syuna f, syunys f pl
• Latin: muscus m
• Latvian: sūnas f pl, sūna f
• Laz: ფუთქირი (putkiri)
• Lithuanian: samanos m
• Luxembourgish: Moos m or n
• Macedonian: мов m (mov)
• Maguindanao: ulamut
• Malay: lumut (ms)
• Maltese: ħażiż m
• Mansaka: lomot
• Maori: rimu, pūkohukohu
• Maranao: alomot
• Masbatenyo: lumot
• Mingrelian: ფუთქური (putkuri)
• Mongolian:

  Cyrillic: хөвд (mn) (xövd)

  Mongolian: ᠬᠥᠪᠳᠦ (köbdü)

• Nanai: нямолта (nyamolta) (swamp)
• Nogai: тулан (tulan)
• Northern Sami: darfi, sámmál, sámil
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: mose (no) m

  Nynorsk: mose m

• Nuosu: ꒊꂱ (yyp mip)
• Occitan: mossa (oc) f, mofa (oc) f, molsa f
• Ojibwe: aasaakamig
• Old Church Slavonic:

  Cyrillic: мъхъ m (mŭxŭ)

• Old English: mos n
• Persian: خزه (fa) (xaze)
• Polish: mech (pl) m
• Portuguese: musgo (pt) m
• Romanian: mușchi (ro) n
• Romansch: mistgel m
• Russian: мох (ru) m (mox)
• Sami:

  Inari Sami: seevtil, siävŋál

  Kildin Sami: ся̄ххтар (s’āxxtar), се̄фьтӭрь (s’ēf’t’er’)

  Skolt Sami: seeuʹter

• Sanskrit: शैवल (sa) m (śaivala), शैवाल (sa) m (śaivāla)
• Sardinian: nuscu
• Scottish Gaelic: còinneach f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: мах m, маховина f

  Roman: mah (sh) m, mahovina (sh) f

• Sicilian: lippu (scn) m
• Slovak: mach m
• Slovene: mah (sl) m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: mech m

  Upper Sorbian: moch m

• Southern Altai: мок (mok)
• Spanish: musgo (es) m
• Svan: ფანთქუ̂ის (pantkûis)
• Swedish: mossa (sv) c
• Tagalog: lumot
• Tajik: ушна (ušna)
• Tausug: lumut
• Tetum: lumut
• Thai: มอสส์ (mɔ́ɔt)
• Turkish: yosun (tr)
• Turkmen: moh
• Udi: мижов (mižov), мамыр (mamər)
• Udmurt: ӝуй (džuj)
• Ukrainian: мох (uk) m (mox)
• Urdu: کائی f (kā'ī)
• Uyghur: مۇخ (mux)
• Uzbek: yoʻsin (uz), mox (uz)
• Venetian: mus-cio (vec) m, muscio m, niscio
• Vietnamese: rêu (vi)
• Waray-Waray: lumot
• Welsh: mwsogl m
• West Frisian: moas n
• Yiddish: מאָך m (mokh)

a kind or species of such plants

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 苔 (zh) (tāi), 蘚／藓 (zh) (xiǎn)

• Dutch: mos (nl) n
• Esperanto: musko
• Estonian: samblik
• Finnish: sammalikko (fi)
• French: mousse (fr) f
• German: Moos (de) n
• Greek: βρύα (el) n pl (vrýa)
• Macedonian: маховина f (mahovina)
• Portuguese: musgo (pt) m
• Spanish: musgo (es) m
• Swedish: mossa (sv) c
• Ukrainian: мох (uk) m (mox)
• Venetian: mus-cio (vec) m
• West Frisian: moas n

(informal) plant of seemingly simple structure

bog — see bog

Verb

moss (third-person singular simple present mosses, present participle mossing, simple past and past participle mossed)

1. (intransitive) To become covered with moss.

   An oak whose boughs were mossed with age.

2. (transitive) To cover (something) with moss.

Translations

to become covered with moss

• Estonian: sammalduma
• Finnish: sammaloitua (fi)
• German: bemoosen (de)

cover (something) with moss

• German: bemoosen (de)

See also

• muscoid

References

• A New English dictionary on historical principles, Volume 6, Sir James Augustus Henry Murray, Sir William Alexander Craigie, Charles Talbut Onions, editors, Clarendon Press, 1908, pages 684-6

Further reading

• moss on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• SMOS, SMOs, soms

Hungarian

Alternative forms

• mossál

Etymology

mos +‎ -j

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmoʃː]

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: moss
• Rhymes: -oʃː

Verb

moss

1. second-person singular subjunctive present indefinite of mos

   Moss fogat! ― Brush your teeth! (literally, “Wash tooth!”)

Usage notes

Not to be confused with mos (“to wash”).