means The plural of mouse — small rodents with pointed snouts, long tails, and a talent for getting into places they shouldn't.

from From Old English 'mȳs,' the plural of 'mūs,' which already shifted its vowel back when English was young — the same ancient pattern that gives us 'foot/feet' and 'goose/geese.' Trace it further back and you reach Proto-Germanic 'mūs' and a deep Proto-Indo-European root 'mūs-,' which seems to have meant 'mouse' for a very long time: it's a cousin of Latin 'mus,' Greek 'mŷs,' and Sanskrit 'mūṣ.' One charming (and plausible) thread links that root to a word for 'thief' or 'to steal' — fitting for a creature that's been raiding human pantries since the first grain was stored.