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moș

old man /moʃ/

noun#2453 most common

Also: grandpa, elder, geezer

Example sentences

Moș Crăciun aduce daruri copiilor.
Santa Claus brings gifts to children.
Un moș bătrân stă pe bancă în parc.
An old man sits on the bench in the park.
Am mers la moșul meu de sărbători.
I went to my grandpa's for the holidays.
Moșul din sat ne povestește povești seara.
The old man from the village tells us stories in the evening.
Moșii satului se adunau duminica la biserică.
The old men of the village used to gather at church on Sundays.
Legenda spune că un moș sfânt a întemeiat mănăstirea aceasta.
Legend says a holy elder founded this monastery.

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nominativemoșmoși
Genitivemoșuluimoșilor
Accusativemoșmoși
Vocativemoșulemoșilor

Word family

strămoșancestor, forefather
moștenireinheritance
a moștenito inherit
moașămidwife
moșieestate, inherited land

Etymology

"Moș" is not a Latin word. Romanian dictionaries trace it to the pre-Roman substrate language once spoken in the Carpathian region, the same layer that gave Romanian words like "brad" and "mal". Its closest known relative is Albanian, another language built on that old Balkan substrate. Over time "moș" narrowed from a general idea of age or seniority to the concrete sense of "old man".

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