mossyback

English

Etymology

From mossy +‎ back (in sense 2 (“person who stayed hidden to evade conscription during the American Civil War”) probably a variant of mossback, which is attested earlier),[1] alluding to someone or something that is so old or has remained so unmoving that it is as if moss has grown on them or it.

Sense 3.2 (“menhaden”) may be influenced by mossbunker.[1]

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɒsibæk/
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔsiˌbæk/, /ˈmɑ-/
Hyphenation: moss‧y‧back

Noun

mossyback (plural mossybacks) (chiefly US)

(informal) A person with old-fashioned views; hence, one who is very conservative or reactionary; a mossback.
Synonyms: conservative, reactionary, retrograde, traditionalist
(informal, historical, obsolete) Synonym of mossback (“a person who stayed hidden to evade conscription (especially by the Confederate States Army) during the American Civil War (1861–1865)”)
Senses relating to animals.
1. (fishing, obsolete) A fish that is large and old, especially one that has algae growing on its back; a mossback.
2. (obsolete) The menhaden, mossbanker, or mossbunker, a marine fish of the genus Brevoortia or Ethmidium.

Derived terms

mossybacked, mossy-backed

Translations

person with old-fashioned views; one who is very conservative or reactionary

Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: kevneperist (ku) m or f, paşvero m or f

person who stayed hidden to evade conscription during the American Civil War — see mossback

fish that is large and old

marine fish of the genus Brevoortia or Ethmidium — see menhaden

References

“mossyback, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, June 2018; “mossyback, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.