from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. That which eats wood; a wood-borer; a wood-fretter; specifically, the gribble, Limnoria lignorum.
Sorry, no etymologies found.
Thus, moose is from the Indian word _mouswah_, meaning wood-eater; skunk from _seganku_, an Algonquin term; _wapiti_, in the Cree language, meant white deer, and was originally applied to the Rocky Mountain goat, but the name is now restricted to the American elk.
Indeed, their name is derived from the Indian word mouswah, meaning wood-eater.
His long legs enable him to feed on the branches of trees, whence his name of moose, from the Indian musee or musu, wood-eater.
The moose takes its name from its Indian appellation, "moosoa," or "wood-eater;" and this name is very appropriate, as the animal lives mostly upon the leaves and twigs of trees.
"wood-eater;" and this name is very appropriate, as the animal lives mostly upon the leaves and twigs of trees.