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moccasin

 - 4 dictionary results

moc⋅ca⋅sin

[mok-uh-sin, -zuhn]
–noun
1. a heelless shoe made entirely of soft leather, as deerskin, with the sole brought up and attached to a piece of u-shaped leather on top of the foot, worn originally by the American Indians.
2. a hard-soled shoe or slipper resembling this, often decorated with beads.
3. any of several North American snakes of the genus Agkistrodon (Ancistrodon), esp. the cottonmouth.

Origin:
1605–15, Americanism; < Virginia Algonquian < Proto-Algonquian *maxkeseni
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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moc·ca·sin   (mŏk'ə-sĭn)   
n.  
  1. A soft leather slipper traditionally worn by certain Native American peoples.

  2. Footwear resembling such a slipper.

  3. A water moccasin.


[Of Virginia Algonquian origin; akin to Powhatan mäkäsĭn, shoe, and Ojibwa makisin.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

moccasin 
1612, from an Algonquian language of Virginia, probably Powhatan makasin "shoe" (cognate with Ojibwa makizin, Narragansett mokussin, Micmac m'kusun). The venomous snake of southern U.S. is perhaps a different word.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: moc·ca·sin
Pronunciation: 'mäk-&-s&n
Function: noun
1 : WATER MOCCASIN
2 : a snake (as of the genus Natrix) resembling a water moccasin
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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