Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A soft leather slipper traditionally worn by certain Native American peoples.
- noun Footwear resembling such a slipper.
- noun A water moccasin.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun A shoe or cover for the feet, made of deerskin or other soft leather, without a stiff sole, and usually ornamented on the upper side: the shoe customarily worn by the American Indians.
- noun A venomous serpent of the United States.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A shoe made of deerskin, or other soft leather, the sole and upper part being one piece. It is the customary shoe worn by the American Indians.
- noun (Zoöl.) A poisonous snake of the Southern United States. The water moccasin (
Ancistrodon piscivorus syn.Agkistrodon piscivorus , also calledcottonmouth andcottonmouth water moccasin ) is usually found in or near water. Above, it is olive brown, barred with black; beneath, it is brownish yellow, mottled with darker. The upland moccasin isAncistrodon atrofuscus . They resemble rattlesnakes, but are without rattles. - noun (Bot.) a species of lady's slipper (
Cypripedium acaule ) found in North America. The lower petal is two inches long, and forms a rose-colored moccasin-shaped pouch. It grows in rich woods under coniferous trees.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A kind of shoe with low heels, with the top sides stitched upwards.
- noun A Native North American shoe made of
deerskin . - noun A light beige colour, like that of a moccasin.
- noun Any of several North American
snakes of the genus Agkistrodon.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun soft leather shoe; originally worn by Native Americans
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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"I sent a letter out privately to be passed along by the Indians -- what they call moccasin telegraph."
The Woman from Outside [on Swan River] Hulbert Footner 1911
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I'm guessing that a subdued water moccasin is the best kind of water moccasin.
Brief Encounter! ____Maggie 2008
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The Arapahos and Cheyennes use a "shoe" moccasin, that is, one which reaches no higher than the instep, and wants the upper sideflaps which moccasins usually have.
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The moccasin was a little too short -- just a little.
The Lost Girl 1907
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At the same moment a large water-snake, of the kind known as a moccasin, glided away, and disappeared beneath the slimy bank.
The Flamingo Feather Kirk Munroe 1890
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The most common of the group, the _C. acaule_, most widely known as the moccasin-flower, whose large, nodding, pale crimson blooms we so irresistibly associate with the cool hemlock woods, will afford a good illustration.
My Studio Neighbors William Hamilton Gibson 1873
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The moccasin was a dangerous fellow, and he didn't want to run any risks with him.
Down South or, Yacht Adventure in Florida Oliver Optic 1859
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If ever I saw the print of a moccasin, that is one.
With Axe and Rifle William Henry Giles Kingston 1847
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THERE is another snake in Carolina and Florida called the moccasin, very different from this, which is a very beautiful creature, and I believe not of a distructive or vindictive nature; these when grown to their greatest size are about five feet in length, and near as thick as a man's arm; their skin scaly but smooth and shining, of a pale grey and sky colour ground, uniformly marked with transverse undulatory ringlets or blotches of a deep nut brown, edged with red or bright Spanish brown; they appear innocent, very active and swift, endeavouring to escape from one; they have no poisonous fangs.
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It was a cottonmouth water moccasin which is one of the top five “Most Poisonous” snakes in Florida.
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