musquash en · NOUN
Etymology
From Abenaki moskwas (or its Massachusett equivalent). Compare musquaw.
Meanings
-
(archaic) The muskrat, Ondatra zibethicus.
[…] Muſquaſhes, vvhich be much like a Beaver for ſhape, but nothing neare ſo bigge; the male hath tvvo ſtones vvhich ſmell as ſvveete as Muske, […]
1634, William Wood, “Beasts Living in the Water”, in New Englands Prospect. A True, Lively, and Experimentall Description of that Part of America, Commonly Called New England; […], London: […] Tho[mas] Cotes, for Iohn Bellamie, […], →OCLC, 1st part, page 25:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| muscascus | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic | |
| musquashes | Number=Plur | lexicographic | |
| mussascus | alternative, obsolete | lexicographic |