desman

/ˈdɛsmən/

Etymology

From French desman, German Desman, from Swedish desmanråtta (“muskrat”), from desman (“musk”, older also desma, desme), from Middle Low German dēsem, from Old Saxon desamo, alteration of *besamo (cf. Old High German bisamo), from Late Latin bisamum (“musk”), from Hebrew בושם (bāśām, bōśem). Doublet of balm and balsam.

desman means either of two species, Desmana moschata or Galemys pyrenaicus, of aquatic or semiaquatic insectivore of the mole family, Talpidae, found in Europe. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 88 out of 100.

desman is pronounced /ˈdɛsmən/.

noun

Either of two species, Desmana moschata or Galemys pyrenaicus, of aquatic or semiaquatic insectivore of the mole family, Talpidae, found in Europe.“Unlike the Russian desman, the Pyrenean species lives along fast-flowing mountain streams.”