mossyback

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word mossyback. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word mossyback, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say mossyback in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word mossyback you have here. The definition of the word mossyback will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition ofmossyback, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

English

Etymology

From mossy +‎ back (in sense 2 (“person who stayed hidden to evade conscription during the American Civil War”) probably a variant of mossback, which is attested earlier),[1] alluding to someone or something that is so old or has remained so unmoving that it is as if moss has grown on them or it.

Sense 3.2 (“menhaden”) may be influenced by mossbunker.[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

mossyback (plural mossybacks) (chiefly US)

  1. (informal) A person with old-fashioned views; hence, one who is very conservative or reactionary; a mossback.
    Synonyms: conservative, reactionary, retrograde, traditionalist
  2. (informal, historical, obsolete) Synonym of mossback (“a person who stayed hidden to evade conscription (especially by the Confederate States Army) during the American Civil War (1861–1865)”)
  3. Senses relating to animals.
    1. (fishing, obsolete) A fish that is large and old, especially one that has algae growing on its back; a mossback.
    2. (obsolete) The menhaden, mossbanker, or mossbunker, a marine fish of the genus Brevoortia or Ethmidium.

Derived terms

Translations

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 “mossyback, n.”, in OED Online Paid subscription required⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, June 2018; “mossyback, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia