Meanings
plural mossbacks
- USinformalSynonym of mossyback (“a person with old-fashioned views; hence, one who is very conservative or reactionary”).
Synonyms: conservative, reactionary, retrograde, traditionalist, mossyback
- UShistoricalinformalA person who stayed hidden to evade conscription (especially by the Confederate States Army) during the American Civil War (1861–1865); a mossyback.
- Senses relating to animals.
- USA common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina).
- USA largemouth bass or moss bass (Micropterus salmoides).
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSynonym of mossyback (“a person with old-fashioned views; hence, one who is very conservative or reactionary”).
nounSynonym of mossyback (“a fish that is large and old, especially one that has algae growing on its back”).
Origin
From moss + back (in senses 1 (“person with old-fashioned views; one who is very conservative or reactionary”) and 2.3 (“fish that is large and old”) probably a variant of mossyback, which is attested earlier), 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 2.4 (“largemouth bass”) may refer to the back of the fish being a dark green colour.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Polish mossback, żółw z algami na skorupie
- mossbackperson who stayed hidden to evade conscription during the American Civil War
- żółw z algami na skorupieturtle that has a growth of algae on its back
Cite this entry
mossback. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mossback
“mossback.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mossback. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “mossback,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/mossback.
Source: mossback on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.