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mosey (MOH-zee) - v., to wander leisurely, stroll, saunter; to depart, esp. in a hurry.
This is an Americanism dateable to the 1820s, particularly associated these days with Old West dialects -- which is interesting as it's first attested in southeastern states. The two senses are not as far apart as it might seem, given how understatement gets used -- when a sheriff says, "You better mosey along," he's really suggesting that you vamoose pronto. Origin is unknown -- suggestions, given its initial region, that it's from an English dialect run aground over identifying a possible source, and that it's from Spanish vamos, we go (making it a doublet of vamoose), run aground over Spanish having very little (i.e. no other identifying instances) influence over that region.
---L.
This is an Americanism dateable to the 1820s, particularly associated these days with Old West dialects -- which is interesting as it's first attested in southeastern states. The two senses are not as far apart as it might seem, given how understatement gets used -- when a sheriff says, "You better mosey along," he's really suggesting that you vamoose pronto. Origin is unknown -- suggestions, given its initial region, that it's from an English dialect run aground over identifying a possible source, and that it's from Spanish vamos, we go (making it a doublet of vamoose), run aground over Spanish having very little (i.e. no other identifying instances) influence over that region.
---L.
