mosey
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See also: Mosey
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
Unknown. Originally attested in Southern US dialects. Suggested origins include:
- Spanish vamos (compare vamoose)
- British dialectal mose about (“walk around stupidly”)
- an Algonquian term for "walk" (compare Ojibwe bimose (“she or he walks along”))
Pronunciation
Verb
mosey (third-person singular simple present moseys, present participle moseying, simple past and past participle moseyed)
- (chiefly US, dialectal, intransitive) To set off, get going; to start a journey.
- 1910, Lucy Maud Montgomery, “chapter 1”, in Kilmeny of the Orchard:
- Haven't got time. I must mosey up to the North End to see a man who has got a lovely throat. Nobody can find out what is the matter. He has puzzled all the doctors.
- (chiefly US, dialectal, intransitive) To go off quickly: to hurry up.
- (chiefly US, dialectal, intransitive) To amble; to walk or proceed in a leisurely manner.
- 1919, William MacLeod Raine, “chapter 6”, in A Man Four-Square:
- We'll mosey along toward the river. Kinder take it easy an' drift the herd down slow so as to let the cattle put on flesh.
Usage notes
- Associated especially with the dialect of the Old West.
Translations
to go off quickly
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to amble
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