wood-eater

Definitions

n. That which eats wood; a wood-borer; a wood-fretter; specifically, the gribble, Limnoria lignorum.

Sorry, no etymologies found.

Thus, moose is from the Indian word _mouswah_, meaning wood-eater; skunk from _seganku_, an Algonquin term; _wapiti_, in the Cree language, meant white deer, and was originally applied to the Rocky Mountain goat, but the name is now restricted to the American elk.

The Log of the Sun A Chronicle of Nature's Year
Indeed, their name is derived from the Indian word mouswah, meaning wood-eater.

Janey Canuck in the West
His long legs enable him to feed on the branches of trees, whence his name of moose, from the Indian musee or musu, wood-eater.

Rural Hours
The moose takes its name from its Indian appellation, "moosoa," or "wood-eater;" and this name is very appropriate, as the animal lives mostly upon the leaves and twigs of trees.

The Young Voyageurs Boy Hunters in the North
"wood-eater;" and this name is very appropriate, as the animal lives mostly upon the leaves and twigs of trees.

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