mouse

Meaning

Noun

1. Any small rodent of the genus Mus.
2. (informal) A member of the many small rodent and marsupial species resembling such a rodent.
3. A quiet or shy person.
4. (plural mice or, rarely, mouses) An input device that is moved over a pad or other flat surface to produce a corresponding movement of a pointer on a graphical display.
5. A facial hematoma or black eye.
6. A turn or lashing of spun yarn or small stuff, or a metallic clasp or fastening, uniting the point and shank of a hook to prevent its unhooking or straightening out.
7. (obsolete) A familiar term of endearment.
8. A match used in firing guns or blasting.
9. A small model of (a fragment of) Zermelo-Fraenkel set theory with desirable properties (depending on the context).
10. A small cushion for a woman's hair.
11. Part of a hind leg of beef, next to the round.

Verb

1. To move cautiously or furtively, in the manner of a mouse (the rodent) (frequently used in the phrasal verb to mouse around).
2. To hunt or catch mice (the rodents), usually of cats.
3. To close the mouth of a hook by a careful binding of marline or wire.
4. To navigate by means of a computer mouse.
5. (obsolete) To tear, as a cat devours a mouse.

Synonyms

rat

🐀

rodent

computer mouse

shiner

black eye

shrew

sneak

sheep

🐑

house mouse

creep

small mouse

pussyfoot

bandicoot

skim

soapsuds

spume

squirrels

vermin

vole

shy person

Cavia porcellus

apodemus

mus

Peromyscus maniculatus

sewer rat

black rat

brown rat

enthusiast

field mouse

guinea pig

hunt

mice

mole

moles

nebbish

scum

Pronounced as (IPA)

/maʊs/

Etymology

From Middle English mous, from Old English mūs, from Proto-West Germanic *mūs, from Proto-Germanic *mūs, from Proto-Indo-European *muh₂s.
cognates
Germanic cognates include Old Frisian mūs, Old Saxon mūs (German Low German Muus), Dutch muis, Old High German mūs (German Maus), Old Norse mús (Swedish mus, Danish mus, Norwegian mus, Icelandic mús, Faroese mús).
Indo-European cognates include Ancient Greek μῦς (mûs), Latin mūs, Spanish mur, Armenian մուկ (muk), Old Church Slavonic мꙑшь (myšĭ) (Russian мышь (myšʹ)), Albanian mi, Persian موش (muš),Northern Kurdish mişk,Sanskrit मूष् (mūṣ).
The computing sense was coined by American engineer Bill English in 1965 and first used publicly in a publication titled "Computer-Aided Display Control", in reference to the similarity with the animal.