Meaning
A woolly material obtained from the dried leaves of an Asian species of mugwort, such as Artemisia argyi, as used in moxibustion.
Etymology
Origin: Dutch
From Japanese 艾 (mogusa, “mugwort”). The u is not strongly pronounced in Japanese, leading to its disappearance and the devoicing of the plosive. First used by Hermann Buschoff, a Dutch minister in Batavia, who wrote the first book about this remedy in 1674.
Synonyms & Antonyms
NYT Puzzle Appearances
No published puzzle dates on file for this word yet. It is part of the official NYT Spelling Bee word list for 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025.