Word.ws English Dictionary

desman

Syllables: des·man/ˈdɛsmən/US/ˈdɛz.mən/

desman noun: either of two species, Desmana moschata or Galemys pyrenaicus, of aquatic or semiaquatic insectivore of the mole family, Talpidae, found in Europe.

desman: either of two species, Desmana moschata or Galemys pyrenaicus, of aquatic or semiaquatic...
Image: David Perez, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

desman (plural desmans)

  1. 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.1995, R. David Stone, editor, Eurasian Insectivores and Tree Shrews: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan, page 50
    • Restricted to the Old World, desmans have a diet consisting of aquatic invertebrates and fish.2007, George A. Feldhamer, Lee C. Drickamer, Stephen H. Vessey, Joseph F. Merritt, Carey Krajewski, Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, Ecology, 3rd edition, page 250

Forms of desman

pluraldesmans

Origin of desman

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.

Words formed from desman

Questions about desman

What does desman mean?
Desman means either of two species, Desmana moschata or Galemys pyrenaicus, of aquatic or semiaquatic insectivore of the mole family, Talpidae, found in Europe.
What part of speech is desman?
Desman is a noun.
How do you pronounce desman?
Desman is pronounced /ˈdɛsmən/ (UK).
What is the plural of desman?
The plural of desman is desmans.

Words near desman in the dictionary

  1. desludging
  2. desm-
  3. desma
  4. desmacellid
  5. desmacellids
  6. desman
  7. desmans
  8. Desmarais
  9. Desmaraises
  10. desmatochelyid
  11. desmatochelyids

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: desman (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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