Join free

mossie

English · Français

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

mossie¹

  • /ˈmɒs.i/

Where it comes from

From Afrikaans, from Dutch mus (“a sparrow”).

noun mossies

  1. South Africa Any of various species of sparrow, especially Passer melanurus. Our four baby mossies have left the nest.

mossie²

  • /ˈmɒz.i/ UK

Rhymes with -ɒzi

Where it comes from

Diminutive formed from mosquito. Compare Dutch meuzie (“mosquito”).

noun mossies · mozzie · mozzy · mossy

  1. Australia, New Zealand, UK, colloquial A mosquito. 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.’

Mossie³

Where it comes from

Diminutive of Maurice + -ie.

proper noun Mozzie

  1. Ireland A diminutive of the male given name Maurice.

Mossie⁴

Where it comes from

Form of mossie (“diminutive of mosquito”).

noun Mossies · Mozzie

  1. UK, colloquial, dated, historical, informal A de Havilland Mosquito. He leaned into the electric gunsight, aiming the Mossie at the left wingroot between engine and fuselage, where he knew there were fuel tanks — his right thumb mashed the control-column firing button.

Mossie⁵

Where it comes from

Blend of Maori + Aussie.

noun Mossies · Mozzie

  1. Australia, New Zealand, slang A person of Maori descent living in Australia.

Talk about this word

Cite this
MLA

"mossie." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/mossie. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

mossie. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/mossie

Chicago

"mossie." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/mossie.

BibTeX
@misc{mossie_2026,
  title = {mossie},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/mossie},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}