Etymology Earlier mus, moos, from an Eastern Algonquian language name for the animal, such as Massachusett moos, mws, Narragansett moos or Penobscot mos (cognate to Abenaki moz), from Proto-Algonquian *mo·swa (“it strips”), referring to how a moose strips tree bark when feeding: compare Massachusett moos-u (“he strips, cuts smooth”).
1
The largest member of the deer family (Alces americanus, sometimes included in Alces alces), of which the male has very large, palmate antlers.
We saw a moose at the edge of the woods.
2
Any of the extinct moose-like deer of the genera Cervalces and Libralces.
Europe’s giant beavers lived at the same time as the first moose, Libralces gallicus.2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 152:
In military bases in the rear areas it was common for soldiers to have a moose.2005, Rupert Nelson, Like the Rings of a Tree, page 279:
Even the lowest ranked serviceman, because of his salary, benefits, and status as an American occupationaire, could afford to “maintain a ‘Moose’ and still take care of his other obligations.”2011, Michael Cullen Green, Black Yanks in the Pacific, page 75: