moose

English "moose" comes from earlier forms like "mus" or "moos," borrowed from an Eastern Algonquian word for the animal, such as Massachusett "moos" or Narragansett "moos." That word traces back to Proto-Algonquian *mo·swa, meaning "it strips," describing how the animal strips bark from trees while feeding.

The name stayed close to its original meaning throughout — it was always simply the word for this bark-stripping animal, adapted into English spelling over time.

It's cognate with Abenaki "moz" and related to Massachusett "moos-u," meaning "he strips, cuts smooth," the same root idea of stripping bark.