muss

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mʌs/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʌs

Etymology 1

Related to mess (“disorder”).

Verb

muss (third-person singular simple present musses, present participle mussing, simple past and past participle mussed)

1. (transitive) To rumple, tousle or make (something) untidy.

   The old man affectionately mussed his grandson's hair.

Usage notes

1. In typical usage, the direct object of this verb is almost always the hair on an individual's head, especially but not exclusively the shorter hair of a man or boy. Less frequently, it can refer to other intimate appurtenances such as clothing, bedding, mascara or other makeup on an individual's face, or a collection of belongings that previously had been deliberately arranged or put in order. In these cases, the phrasal verb construction muss up is often used instead of muss. In most other contexts, mess (or mess up) would be more idiomatic.

Derived terms

• muss up

Translations

Noun

muss (plural musses)

1. A mess (disagreeable mixture or confusion of things; disorder)
2. (obsolete) A scramble, as when small objects are thrown down, to be taken by those who can seize them; a confused struggle.
   • c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies  (First Folio), London: Isaac Iaggard, and Ed Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):

     Authority melts from me: of late, when I cried 'Ho!' like boys unto a muss, kings would start forth, and cry 'Your will?' Have you no ears? I am Antony yet.

   • 1614 November 10 (first performance; Gregorian calendar), Beniamin Iohnson [i.e., Ben Jonson], Bartholmew Fayre: A Comedie, , London: I B for Robert Allot, , published 1631, →OCLC, (please specify the page):

     Gods so! a muss, a muss, a muss, a muss.

Translations

Etymology 2

Compare Middle English mus (“a mouse”). See mouse.

Noun

muss (plural musses)

1. (obsolete) A term of endearment.

Translations

References

• “muss”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.

Anagrams

• Sums, sums

German

Alternative forms

• muß (superseded)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mʊs/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ʊs

Verb

muss

1. first/third-person singular present of müssen

Luxembourgish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mus/

Verb

muss

1. first/second/third-person singular present indicative of mussen