MOSS • E-FREE TRANSLATION.COM • Definition of Moss

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noun

Moss n.

1.

(Bot.) A cryptogamous plant of a cellular structure, with distinct stem and simple leaves. The fruit is a small capsule usually opening by an apical lid, and so discharging the spores. There are many species, collectively termed Musci, growing on the earth, on rocks, and trunks of trees, etc., and a few in running water. Note: The term moss is also popularly applied to many other small cryptogamic plants, particularly lichens, species of which are called tree moss, rock moss, coral moss, etc. Fir moss and club moss are of the genus Lycopodium. See Club moss, under Club, and Lycopodium.

2.

A bog; a morass; a place containing peat; as, the mosses of the Scottish border. Note: Moss is used with participles in the composition of words which need no special explanation; as, moss-capped, moss-clad, moss-covered, moss-grown, etc.

Black moss. See under Black, and Tillandsia.

Bog moss. See Sphagnum.

Feather moss, any moss branched in a feathery manner, esp. several species of the genus Hypnum.

Florida moss, Long moss, or Spanish moss. See Tillandsia.

Iceland moss, a lichen. See Iceland Moss.

Irish moss, a seaweed. See Carrageen.

Moss agate (Min.), a variety of agate, containing brown, black, or green mosslike or dendritic markings, due in part to oxide of manganese. Called also Mocha stone.

Moss animal (Zool.), a bryozoan.

Moss berry (Bot.), the small cranberry (Vaccinium Oxycoccus).

Moss campion (Bot.), a kind of mosslike catchfly (Silene acaulis), with mostly purplish flowers, found on the highest mountains of Europe and America, and within the Arctic circle.

Moss land, land produced accumulation of aquatic plants, forming peat bogs of more or less consistency, as the water is grained off or retained in its pores.

Moss pink (Bot.), a plant of the genus Phlox (Phlox subulata), growing in patches on dry rocky hills in the Middle United States, and often cultivated for its handsome flowers.

Moss rose (Bot.), a variety of rose having a mosslike growth on the stalk and calyx. It is said to be derived from the Provence rose.

Moss rush (Bot.), a rush of the genus Juncus (Juncus squarrosus).

Scale moss. See Hepatica.

verb

Moss v. t. (past & past part. mossed; pres. part. mossing) To cover or overgrow with moss. "An oak whose boughs were mossed with age."

See images of 'Moss'

Etymology of 'Moss'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Moss" Quotes from Famous Books

... moved his stuffy legs fast, his steps were so short that they had to go slowly in order not to run into him. But after a time they reached a large, circular space in the center of the forest, which was clear of any stumps or underbrush. The ground was covered by a soft gray moss, pleasant to tread upon. All the trees surrounding this space seemed to be hollow and had round holes in their trunks, set a little way above the ground, but otherwise there was nothing unusual about the place and nothing, in the opinion of ...

— The Lost Princess of Oz • L. Frank Baum

... drove down to Edgemere, and the glow of the dying day lingered upon the beautiful hills of Jersey. For the wild storm was quieted and the sea shone as a sapphire zone. Golden gleams lit up stern old Mount Orgueil and gray Fort Regent, and tenderly tinted the rugged outlines of the moss-grown Elizabeth Castle. All nature dreamed in the peaceful, even fall. On the sea, white sails were flitting afar, and the swift steamers passed grandly on toward their distant havens. There was a group gathered in the splendid ...

— A Fascinating Traitor • Richard Henry Savage

... tops of the highest mountains. It attains the size of a large goat; the head resembles that of an ordinary sheep, but is furnished with strong, crooked horns: the skin and form of the body are like the reindeer, and it feeds chiefly on moss. It is fleet and active, achieving, like the chamois, prodigious springs among the rocks and precipices, and is, consequently, with difficulty killed or taken. In preparing for these leaps, its eye measures the distance ...

— A New Voyage Round the World, in the years 1823, 24, 25, and 26, Vol. 2 • Otto von Kotzebue

... Hence it is simply impossible to decide the question on the basis of the experience of the breeders. Even in the case of the same novelty arising in sundry varieties of the same species, the question as to common origin, by means of crossing, is often hard to decide, as for instance in moss-roses and nectarines. On the other hand, instances are on record where the same novelty has appeared at different times, often at long intervals. Such is the case with the butterfly-cyclamen, a form with wide-spreading petals which originated in Martin's nursery in England. The first ...

— Species and Varieties, Their Origin by Mutation • Hugo DeVries

... land: 0% permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (largely covered by permanent ice and snow with some sparse vegetation consisting of grass, moss, and ...

— The 2004 CIA World Factbook • United States. Central Intelligence Agency

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