moss

Meanings

Noun

• 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 (division)).
• A kind or species of such plants.
• Any alga, lichen, bryophyte, or other plant of seemingly simple structure.
• A bog; a fen.

Verb

• To become covered with moss.
• To cover (something) with moss.

Origin

• From Middle English mos, from Old English mos, from Proto-West Germanic *mos, from Proto-Germanic *musą, from Proto-Indo-European *mews-.
• Cognate with Saterland Frisian Moas, West Frisian moas, Dutch mos, German Low German Moss, German Moos, Danish mos, Swedish mossa, Icelandic mosi, Latin muscus, Russian мох, Polish mech. mousse.