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Origin and history of moccasin

moccasin(n.)

1610s, foot-covering worn originally by native North American people (made of deerskin or soft leather and without a stiff sole), from an Algonquian language of Virginia, probably Powhatan makasin "shoe," from Central Atlantic Coast Algonquian *mockasin, which is similar to Southern New England Algonquian *makkusin, Munsee Delaware mahkusin, Ojibwa makizin. Related: Moccasined.

As a name for a type of venomous snake of the southern U.S. (1784), it is perhaps a different word, but none has been found to match it. Bright regards them as identical, but the sense connection is difficult to explain.

also from 1610s

Entries linking to moccasin

water-moccasin(n.)

type of snake in the U.S. South, 1821, from water (n.1) + moccasin (q.v.). Especially a highly venomous species, but the name is applied without distinction to similar-looking harmless snakes.

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    hose
    late 13c., "covering of woven cloth or leather for the lower part of the leg, with or without feet," from late Old English hosa "covering for the leg," from Proto-Germanic *huson- (source also of Old Saxon, Old Norse hosa "covering for the leg between the knee and ankle," Middle
    shoe
    Middle English sho, "low-cut covering for the human foot," from Old English scoh, from Proto-Germanic *skokhaz (source also of Old Norse skor, Danish and Swedish sko, Old Frisian skoch, Old Saxon skoh, Middle Dutch scoe, Dutch schoen, Old High German scuoh, German Schuh, Gothic s
    bathroom
    also bath-room, 1780, from bath + room (n.). Originally a room with apparatus for bathing (the only definition in "Century Dictionary," 1902); it came to be used 20c. in U.S. as a euphemism for a lavatory and often is noted as a word that confuses British travelers. To go to the
    toast
    "to brown with heat," late 14c., from Old French toster "to toast, to grill, roast, burn" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *tostare (source of Italian tostare, Spanish tostar), frequentative of Latin torrere (past participle tostus) "to parch," from PIE root *ters- "to dry." Related: To
    exploit
    late 14c., "outcome of an action," from Old French esploit "a carrying out; achievement, result; gain, advantage" (12c., Modern French exploit), a very common word, used in senses of "action, deed, profit, achievement," from Latin explicitum "a thing settled, ended, or displayed,
    octopus
    1758, genus name of a type of eight-armed cephalopod mollusks, from Latinized form of Greek oktōpous, literally "eight-foot," from oktō "eight" (see eight) + pous "foot," from PIE root *ped- "foot." The more usual Greek word seems to have been polypous (also pōlyps), from polys "
    cardinal
    early 12c., "one of the ecclesiastical princes who constitute the sacred college," from Medieval Latin cardinalis, originally as a noun "one of the presbyters of the chief (cardinal) churches of Rome," short for cardinalis ecclesiae Romanae or episcopus cardinalis, from Latin car
    penny
    English coin, Middle English peni, from Old English pening, penig, Northumbrian penning "penny," from Proto-Germanic *panninga- (source also of Old Norse penningr, Swedish pänning, Danish penge, Old Frisian panning, Old Saxon pending, Middle Dutch pennic, Dutch penning, Old High
    body
    Middle English bodi, from Old English bodig "trunk of a man or beast; the whole physical structure of a human or animal; material frame, material existence of a human; main or principal part of anything," related to Old High German botah, but otherwise of unknown origin. Not else
    lest
    c. 1200, "that not," especially "for fear that" [OED calls it a negative particle of intention], from a contraction of the Old English phrase þy læs þe "the less that," from þy, instrumental case of demonstrative article þæt "that" + læs (see less) + conjunction þe (see the). The

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