moccasin
UK[ˈmɒkəsɪn]US[ˈmɑːkəsɪn]
n
A soft, flat-soled leather shoe without a heel, originally worn by some Indigenous peoples of North America.
n
A type of venomous pit viper found in the southeastern United States, also called a water moccasin or cottonmouth.
Etymology
The word 'moccasin' is a direct borrowing into English from the languages of the Indigenous peoples of the Atlantic coast. It originates from the Powhatan word 'mockasin' or a closely related Eastern Algonquian term. The word traveled into English in the early 17th century through colonial contact, carrying with it the specific cultural object—the distinctive soft-soled shoe. Its application to a type of snake, the water moccasin, is an American English development from the 19th century, likely due to the snake's habitat in the regions where the word for the shoe was already familiar.
Analysis
This word is a simplex loanword from an Eastern Algonquian language (likely Powhatan or a related dialect). It entered English as a single, unanalyzable unit in terms of Latin or Greek morphemes.
Examples
He wore a comfortable pair of deerskin moccasins around the house.
The traditional craft of beading moccasins has been passed down for generations.
While hiking near the swamp, we were careful to avoid the water moccasin coiled on the log.