Mossie
Pronunciation
Origin 1
From Afrikaans, from Dutch mus ("a sparrow").
Full definition of mossie
Noun
mossie
(plural mossies)- (South Africa) The common name for various species of sparrow, especially .
- 1963, Lady Joy Petersen Packer, Home from Sea, %22mossies%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22mossie%22|%22mossies%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=lOW0T8rBKOT3mAWk6KHuDw&redir_esc=y page 221,Our four baby mossies have left the nest.
- 1969, J. M. Winterbottom, Cornelis Janse Uys, Some Birds of the Cape, %22mossies%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22mossie%22|%22mossies%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=F8-0T7aUJuHumAWxt_jyDw&redir_esc=y page 93,Another highly successful species, which has become a serious pest of fruit, is the Mossie or Cape Sparrow. The male mossie, with his black and white head and rufous mantle, is rather a handsome little bird; his wife lacks the head markings, being grey-brown with a pale eye-stripe.
- 2004, Troy Blacklaws, Karoo Boy, %22mossies%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&dq=%22mossie%22|%22mossies%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=F8-0T7aUJuHumAWxt_jyDw&redir_esc=y page 78,He laughs a deep laugh that rumbles up from somewhere in his drumskin stomach. It spooks the mossies on the overhead telegraph wire.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: /ˈmɒz.i/
- Rhymes: -É’zi
Origin 2
Diminutive formed from mosquito.
Alternative forms
Noun
mossie
(plural mossies)- (UK, Australia, New Zealand, colloquial) A mosquito.
- 1996, Patricia Shaw (novelist), The Opal Seekers, %22mossies%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=F8-0T7aUJuHumAWxt_jyDw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22mossie%22|%22mossies%22%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false unnumbered page,She came out, standing a head taller than him, tugging a loose cotton shift into place, and made for a rough brick fireplace beside a pile of rusting pots and pans.‘Come inside,’ Willi said. ‘The mossies will eat you alive out here.’
- 2003, Jack Lagan, A B Sea: A Loose-Footed Lexicon, %22mossies%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=Fd60T4v4M4yOmQXZvsX9Dw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22mossie%22|%22mossies%22%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false page 211,Tip 1 : Make sure there is clearance between your body and the net. If the net touches your skin, the mossie will be able to bite you through it.
- 2012, Susan Kurosawa, Coasting: A Year by the Bay, %22mossies%22+-intitle:%22%22+-inauthor:%22%22&hl=en&sa=X&ei=F8-0T7aUJuHumAWxt_jyDw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=%22mossie%22|%22mossies%22%20-intitle%3A%22%22%20-inauthor%3A%22%22&f=false unnumbered page,He had becoms full of Bay intelligence about mosquito repellent measures. Apart from the obvious—mossie coils, citronella candles, zappers, fine nets suspended over beds and Rid roll-on or spray—he decided to invest in bush gear from an army disposal store. The mossies, who know a city slicker when they bite one, had been stinging clear through his Calvin Clone T-shirts from the Hong Kong markets and feasting on his bare arms as if presented with a juicy buffet.