mosey · verb1
Unknown. Originally attested in Southern US dialects. Suggested origins include: * Spanish vamos (compare vamoose) * British dialectal mosey about (“walk around at leisurely pace”) * an Algonquian term for "walk" (compare Ojibwe bimose (“she or he walks along”)) * proper name Mosey, pet form of Moses, in reference to the biblical Exodus which he led
mosey · adjective, noun2
From moss + -y (apparently reflecting Middle English open vowel lengthening).
Mosey · proper noun3
From a pet form of the personal name Moses.
First known use, by meaning
- from 19th c. A fool, an idiot.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.