Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
Moss \Moss\, n. [OE. mos; akin to AS. me['o]s, D. mos, G. moos,
OHG. mos, mios, Icel. mosi, Dan. mos, Sw. mossa, Russ. mokh',
L. muscus. Cf. {Muscoid}.]
1. (Bot.) A cryptogamous plant of a cellular structure, with
distinct stem and simple leaves. The fruit is a small
capsule usually opening by an apical lid, and so
discharging the spores. There are many species,
collectively termed Musci, growing on the earth, on rocks,
and trunks of trees, etc., and a few in running water.
Note: The term moss is also popularly applied to many other
small cryptogamic plants, particularly lichens, species
of which are called tree moss, rock moss, coral moss,
etc. Fir moss and club moss are of the genus
{Lycopodium}. See {Club moss}, under {Club}, and
{Lycopodium}.
2. A bog; a morass; a place containing peat; as, the mosses
of the Scottish border.
Note: Moss is used with participles in the composition of
words which need no special explanation; as,
moss-capped, moss-clad, moss-covered, moss-grown, etc.
{Black moss}. See under {Black}, and {Tillandsia}.
{Bog moss}. See {Sphagnum}.
{Feather moss}, any moss branched in a feathery manner, esp.
several species of the genus {Hypnum}.
{Florida moss}, {Long moss}, or {Spanish moss}. See
{Tillandsia}.
{Iceland moss}, a lichen. See {Iceland Moss}.
{Irish moss}, a seaweed. See {Carrageen}.
{Moss agate} (Min.), a variety of agate, containing brown,
black, or green mosslike or dendritic markings, due in
part to oxide of manganese. Called also {Mocha stone}.
{Moss animal} (Zo["o]l.), a bryozoan.
{Moss berry} (Bot.), the small cranberry ({Vaccinium
Oxycoccus}).
{Moss campion} (Bot.), a kind of mosslike catchfly ({Silene
acaulis}), with mostly purplish flowers, found on the
highest mountains of Europe and America, and within the
Arctic circle.
{Moss land}, land produced accumulation of aquatic plants,
forming peat bogs of more or less consistency, as the
water is grained off or retained in its pores.
{Moss pink} (Bot.), a plant of the genus {Phlox} ({P.
subulata}), growing in patches on dry rocky hills in the
Middle United States, and often cultivated for its
handsome flowers. --Gray.
{Moss rose} (Bot.), a variety of rose having a mosslike
growth on the stalk and calyx. It is said to be derived
from the Provence rose.
{Moss rush} (Bot.), a rush of the genus {Juncus} ({J.
squarrosus}).
{Scale moss}. See {Hepatica}.
Pink \Pink\, n. [Perh. akin to pick; as if the edges of the
petals were picked out. Cf. {Pink}, v. t.]
1. (Bot.) A name given to several plants of the
caryophyllaceous genus {Dianthus}, and to their flowers,
which are sometimes very fragrant and often double in
cultivated varieties. The species are mostly perennial
herbs, with opposite linear leaves, and handsome
five-petaled flowers with a tubular calyx.
2. A color resulting from the combination of a pure vivid red
with more or less white; -- so called from the common
color of the flower. --Dryden.
3. Anything supremely excellent; the embodiment or perfection
of something. ``The very pink of courtesy.'' --Shak.
4. (Zo["o]l.) The European minnow; -- so called from the
color of its abdomen in summer. [Prov. Eng.]
{Bunch pink} is {Dianthus barbatus}.
{China}, or {Indian}, {pink}. See under {China}.
{Clove pink} is {Dianthus Caryophyllus}, the stock from which
carnations are derived.
{Garden pink}. See {Pheasant's eye}.
{Meadow pink} is applied to {Dianthus deltoides}; also, to
the ragged robin.
{Maiden pink}, {Dianthus deltoides}.
{Moss pink}. See under {Moss}.
{Pink needle}, the pin grass; -- so called from the long,
tapering points of the carpels. See {Alfilaria}.
{Sea pink}. See {Thrift}.
Source : WordNet®
moss pink
n 1: low wiry-stemmed branching herb or southern California
having fringed pink flowers [syn: {ground pink}, {fringed
pink}, {Linanthus dianthiflorus}]
2: low tufted perennial phlox with needlelike evergreen leaves
and pink or white flowers; native to United States and
widely cultivated as a ground cover [syn: {mountain phlox},
{moss phlox}, {dwarf phlox}, {Phlox subulata}]