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Mo·sa·ic (mō-zāĭk)
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adj.
Of or relating to Moses or the laws and writings attributed to him.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 
mo·sa·ic (mō-zāĭk)
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n.
1.
a. A picture or decorative design made by setting small colored pieces, as of stone or tile, into a surface.
b. The process or art of making such pictures or designs.
2. A composite picture made of overlapping, usually aerial, photographs.
3. Something that resembles a mosaic: a mosaic of testimony from various witnesses.
4. Botany A viral disease of plants, resulting in light and dark areas in the leaves, which often become shriveled and dwarfed.
5. An array of photosensitive elements in a video camera that react to light and are scanned by other components to compose an image.
6. Biology An individual exhibiting mosaicism.
tr.v. mo·sa·icked, mo·sa·ick·ing, mo·sa·ics
1. To make by mosaic: mosaic a design on a rosewood box.
2. To adorn with or as if with mosaic: mosaic a sidewalk.

[Middle English musycke, from Old French mosaique, from Old Italian mosaico, from Medieval Latin mūsāicum, neuter of mūsāicus, of the Muses, from Latin Mūsa, Muse, from Greek Mousa; see men-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

mo·sai·cist (mō-zāĭ-sĭst) n.
(click for a larger image)
mosaic
detail of the concert hall Palau de la Música Catalana
Barcelona, Spain

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition copyright ©2022 by HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.
 

Indo-European & Semitic Roots Appendices

    Thousands of entries in the dictionary include etymologies that trace their origins back to reconstructed proto-languages. You can obtain more information about these forms in our online appendices:

    Indo-European Roots

    Semitic Roots

    The Indo-European appendix covers nearly half of the Indo-European roots that have left their mark on English words. A more complete treatment of Indo-European roots and the English words derived from them is available in our Dictionary of Indo-European Roots.