Etymology From Afrikaans, from Dutch mus (“a sparrow”).
1
South Africa Any of various species of sparrow, especially Passer melanurus.
Our four baby mossies have left the nest.1963, Lady Joy Petersen Packer, Home from Sea, page 221:
Another highly successful species, which has become a serious pest of fruit, is the Mossie or Cape Sparrow. The male mossie, with his black and white head and rufous mantle, is rather a handsome little bird; his wife lacks the head markings, being grey-brown with a pale eye-stripe.1969, J. M. Winterbottom, Cornelis Janse Uys, Some Birds of the Cape, page 93:
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He laughs a deep laugh that rumbles up from somewhere in his drumskin stomach. It spooks the mossies on the overhead telegraph wire.2004, Troy Blacklaws, Karoo Boy, page 78:
mossie
noun
UK /ˈmɒz.i/
Etymology Diminutive formed from mosquito. Compare Dutch meuzie (“mosquito”).
She came out, standing a head taller than him, tugging a loose cotton shift into place, and made for a rough brick fireplace beside a pile of rusting pots and pans. ‘Come inside,’ Willi said. ‘The mossies will eat you alive out here.’1996, Patricia Shaw, The Opal Seekers, unnumbered page:
Tip 1 : Make sure there is clearance between your body and the net. If the net touches your skin, the mossie will be able to bite you through it.2003, Jack Lagan, A B Sea: A Loose-Footed Lexicon, page 211:
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He had becoms full of Bay intelligence about mosquito repellent measures. Apart from the obvious—mossie coils, citronella candles, zappers, fine nets suspended over beds and Rid roll-on or spray—he decided to invest in bush gear from an army disposal store. The mossies, who know a city slicker when they bite one, had been stinging clear through his Calvin Clone T-shirts from the Hong Kong markets and feasting on his bare arms as if presented with a juicy buffet.2012, Susan Kurosawa, Coasting: A Year by the Bay, unnumbered page:
Mossie
noun
Etymology Form of mossie (“diminutive of mosquito”).
He leaned into the electric gunsight, aiming the Mossie at the left wingroot between engine and fuselage, where he knew there were fuel tanks — his right thumb mashed the control-column firing button.1983, John Kelly, The Wooden Wolf, page 142:
The Mossies were still able to land before the bombers were over the Channel.1993, Air League of the British Empire, Air Pictorial: Journal of the Air League, volume 55, page 8:
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Almost 8,000 Mossies were built in Great Britain, Canada and Australia.2003, Harold A. Skaarup, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington D.C. Warbird Survivors 2003: A Handbook on Where to Find Them, page 97: