English
mousse
Mousse comes from French mousse ‘foam, froth’.
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmousse‘foam, froth’
- Englishearliest quotation 1987same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Frenchc. 1600–presentmousse‘foam, froth’
- Englishearliest quotation 1987same form
Earliest quotation: 1987, D.F. Boesch, N.N. Rabalais: “Pretreatment of oil or sea water with dispersants or…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *mews- ‘moss’
through Proto-Germanic *musą ‘moss, bog, marsh’
through Old French mosse ‘moss’
Today it means
noun An airy pudding served chilled, particularly chocolate mousse.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / French mousse / mousse