musquash

American  

[muhs-kwosh] / ˈmʌs kwɒʃ /

noun

1. Chiefly British. the fur of the muskrat.

---

musquash British  

/ ˈmʌskwɒʃ /

noun

1. another name for muskrat , used esp to refer to its fur

---

Etymology

Origin of musquash

1770–80, < Massachusett cognate of Western Abenaki mòskwas (perhaps equivalent to Proto-Algonquian *mo·ŝk- bobbing above the surface of the water + *-exkwe· head + derivational elements, i.e., the one whose head bobs above the water)

Example Sentences

Equally curious with these are his descriptions of the “beasts living in the water,” as the otter, musquash, &c., and of “the birds and fowls, both of land and water.”

From Project Gutenberg

I remember especially one big musquash that I was going to shoot near one of my traps, when I stopped short at noticing some queer thing about him.

From Project Gutenberg

I've heard many men say they think musquash as good as almost anything to be had in the woods or swamps up north.

From Project Gutenberg

The Rodentia include beavers, nutrias, musk-rats or musquash, marmots, hamsters, chinchillas, hares, rabbits, squirrels, &c.

From Project Gutenberg

The only reassuring note in the "musquash talk" to-day is sounded when the subject of candles is reached.

From Project Gutenberg