QUESTION: Meaning & etymology of "mosey"

[Richard Gage]

Before you all mosey on off on spring break, I'd like to ask you a
question about the origin and meaning of the word "mosey."

     Example, from _Huckleberry_Finn_: "So I'll mosey along now,
     and smouch a couple of case-knives"

According to the OED, "mosey" means "to go away quickly." Webster's
Unabridged, which offers two contradictory definitions --"to hurry away"
and "to move in a leisurely, shuffling, or aimless manner" -- says the
origin of "mosey" is unknown.  According to the Hypertext Webster
Gateway, the word may perhaps be a derivation of the word "vamoose."

Here's the question I'd like to pose to the ADS-L discussion group. It
seems to me that the OED is wrong and Webster's is only half right.  I
have an alternative hypothesis which maybe one of you etymology experts
could prove or disprove.  I think "mosey" is a back formation from
"Moses" and refers to the 40 years it took Moses to lead the Israelites
from Egypt to Canaan -- a distance of about 264 miles (425 km), as the
crow flies.  Even supposing we generously estimate the walking distance
to have been about 400 miles, that means Moses was moving his people
along at the rate of about 10 miles a year. For this reason, I favor
Webster's second definition -- to move away slowly, albeit with a
definite purpose and in a definite direction.

Let me know what you think.

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[Webster's Third New International® Dictionary, Unabridged, Copyright ©
1993 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated]:

mosey

vi moseyed moseyed moseying moseys

[origin unknown]

1 : to hurry away : DECAMP, SCRAM

     »vamoose, skedaddle, mosey ---S.V.Benét«

2 a : to move in a leisurely, shuffling, or aimless manner :SAUNTER,
AMBLE

     »just moseyed along, mostly traveling by shanks' mare ---Helen
     Eustis«

     » moseyed into position to sneak a look at the owner of the rough
     voice ---Joel Sayre«

     »a mild river that moseyed at will through parks and plowland
     ---W.H.Auden«

b : to move slowly while observing or inspecting

     »spend three or four weeks [.....] just moseying about, discovering
     lesser-known museums, galleries, and places of historic interest
     ---Richard Joseph«

     » moseyed around the general store, testing the cheese straight off
     the round ---Eric Sevareid«


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[Oxford English Dictionary definition]:

mosey, v.
slang (orig. U.S.).

intr. To go away quickly; to decamp. Also, to make haste, ‘be lively’;
to jog along (lit. and fig.).

18..New York Tribune (Bartlett 1877), I'll get a room nicely furnished,
and my wife and I will jes mosey along till the election trouble is
over, an' den dere'll be a powerful sight of whitewashin' to be
done.1829Virginia Lit. Museum 30 Dec. 459 Mosey, to move off.1836Public
Ledger (Philadelphia) 2 Dec. (Th.), You'r not going to smoke me. So
mosey off.1838J. C. NEALCharcoal Sk. i. (1850) 17 If your tongue wasn't
so thick I'd say you must mosey; but moseying is only to be done when a
gemman's half shot.a1859N.Y. Family Companion (Bartlett), After you left
me, when them fellows told you to mosey off before the boat went to
sea.1871J. HAYBanty Tim 7 The nigger has got to mosey From the limits o'
Spunky P'int!1885MISS M. N. MURFREEProphet Gt. Smoky Mts. xiii.
233 Hurry 'long, D'rindy,..you-uns ain't goin' ter reel a hank ef ye
don't mosey.1870‘MARK TWAIN’Curious Republic Gondour (1919) 57, I hain't
got time to be palavering along here got to..mosey along.1874in Atlantic
Monthly Nov. 592/2 De way dey made dem sojers mosey
roun'!1891KIPLINGNaulahka vi, I'll mosey along somehow.1901‘H.
MCHUGH’John Henry 42 Abie had moseyed away.1902W. N. HARBENAbner Daniel
59 Now I must mosey on down-stairs.1903A. ADAMSLog Cowboy ix. 124 You
fellows just mosey along up the trail.1918Punch 27 Mar. 206/1 Her
funnel's caked with Cape Horn ice and blistered in the sun, She's
moseyed round above a bit, and, poor old ship, she's done.1961C.
MCCULLERSClock without Hands v. 111 While Mr Malone made up the
Coca-Cola, Jester moseyed over to the scales and stood on them.1966T.
PYNCHONCrying of Lot 49 v. 110 She was moseying along a street..when she
collided with a gang of guided tourists.1973Daily Tel. (Colour Suppl.)
16 Mar. 22/3 Map in hand he moseys round the alleys and yards of
Southwark.1974Black World June 70/2, I had moseyed over to see what they
were yakking about.1974D. RAMSAYNo Cause to KillII.134, I thought I'd
mosey on over to the liquor store.