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mice

[mahys]

Origin

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noun

plural of mouse.

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Can be confused: mice, mouses.

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Mice is always a great word to know.

So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:

a fool or simpleton; ninny.

an arrangement of five objects, as trees, in a square or rectangle, one at each corner and one in the middle.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged

noun

any of numerous small Old World rodents of the family Muridae, especially of the genus Mus, introduced widely in other parts of the world.

any similar small animal of various rodent and marsupial families.

a quiet, timid person.

Computers. a palm-sized, button-operated pointing device that can be used to move, select, activate, and change items on a computer screen. Compare joystick (def. 2), stylus (def. 3).

Informal. a swelling under the eye, caused by a blow or blows; black eye.

EXPAND

Slang. a girl or woman.

COLLAPSE

verb (used with object)

to hunt out, as a cat hunts out mice.

Nautical. to secure with a mousing.

verb (used without object)

to hunt for or catch mice.

10.

to prowl about, as if in search of something: The burglar moused about for valuables.

11.

to seek or search stealthily or watchfully, as if for prey.

12.

Computers. to use a mouse to move the cursor on a computer screen to any position.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English mous (plural mis), Old English mūs (plural mȳs); cognate with German Maus, Old Norse mūs, Latin mūs, Greek mŷs

Related forms

mouse·like, adjective

Can be confused: 1. mice, mouses; 2. mouse, mousse.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To mice

Collins

World English Dictionary

mice (maɪs)

—n
	the plural of mouse

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

mouse

O.E. mus "small rodent," also "muscle," from P.Gmc. *mus (cf. O.N., O.Fris., M.Du. mus, Ger. Maus "mouse"), from PIE *muHs- (cf. Skt. mus "mouse, rat," O.Pers. mush "mouse," O.C.S. mysu, L. mus, Lith. muse "mouse," Gk. mys "mouse, muscle"). Plural form mice (O.E. mys) shows effects of

EXPAND

i-mutation. Meaning "black eye" (or other discolored lump) is from 1842. Computer sense is from 1965, though applied to other things resembling a mouse in shape since 1750, mainly nautical. Mousetrap is from c.1475 (O.E. had musfealle).

COLLAPSE

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage

Science Dictionary

mouse (mous) Pronunciation Key
Plural mice (mīs) or mouses
A hand-held input device that is moved about on a flat surface to direct the cursor on a computer screen. It also has buttons for activating computer functions. The underside of a mechanical mouse contains a rubber-coated ball that rotates as the mouse is moved; optical sensors detect the motion and move the screen pointer correspondingly. An optical mouse is cordless and uses reflections from an LED to track the mouse's movement over a special reflective mat which is marked with a grid that acts as a frame of reference.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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American Heritage

Cultural Dictionary

mouse definition

A common device that allows the user to reposition an arrow on their computer screen in order to activate desired applications. The term mouse comes from the appearance of the device, with the cord to the main computer being seen as a tail of sorts.

Note: The user usually sends signals to the computer when the user depresses or “clicks” a switch. A number of slang terms, such as “click on X” or “click and drag” have arisen from the appearance of symbols on a screen when a mouse is used.

FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary