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moon

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Moon, mo-on, mòòn, and Möön

English

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The Moon (waning crescent).
The Moon (full).

Etymology

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From Middle English mone, from Old English mōna (“moon”), from Proto-West Germanic *mānō, from Proto-Germanic *mēnô (“moon”), from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s (“moon, month”), probably from *meh₁- (“to measure”).

cognates and doublets

Cognate with Scots mone, mune, muin (“moon”), North Frisian muun (“moon”), Saterland Frisian Moune (“moon”), West Frisian moanne (“moon”), Dutch maan (“moon”), German Mond (“moon”), Danish måne (“moon”), Norwegian Bokmål måne (“moon”), Norwegian Nynorsk måne (“moon”), Swedish måne (“moon”), Faroese máni (“moon”), Icelandic máni (“moon”), Latin mēnsis (“month”). See also month, a related term within Indo-European.

Pronunciation

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Proper noun

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moon

  2. (with "the", singular only) Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”).
    • 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 233:
      "I suppose I may have leave to do that!" Yes, she could do that, he said, but there was no road to that place; it lay east of the sun and west of the moon, and she could never find her way there.

Noun

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moon (plural moons)

  2. (informal, by extension of Moon) Any natural satellite of a planet.
    The stargazer observed the moons of Jupiter for over a year.
    That's no moon, you idiot... it's a space station!
  3. (literary) A month, particularly a lunar month.
    • 1603, William Shakespeare, Othello:
      For since these arms of mine had seven years' pith,
      Till now some nine moons wasted, they have used
      Their dearest action in the tented field…
    • 1737, John Brickell, The natural history of North-Carolina, pages 308–309:
      They number their age by Moons or Winters, and say a Woman or a Man is so many Moons old, and so they do with all memorable Actions in life, accounting it to be so many Moons or Winters since such or such a thing happened.
    • 1822, Thomas Love Peacock, Maid Marian, page 238:
      Many moons had waxed and waned when on the afternoon of a lovely summer day a lusty broad-boned knight was riding through the forest of Sherwood.
    • 2002, Russell Allen, "Incantations of the Apprentice", on Symphony X, The Odyssey.
      Through eerie reach of ancient woods / Where lumbering mists arise / I journey for nines moons of the year / To where a land of legend lies
    They stayed with their aunt and uncle for many moons.
  4. A representation of the moon, usually as a crescent or as a circle with a face; a crescent-shaped shape, symbol, or object.
    The wizard costume was decorated with stars and moons.
  5. A crescent-like outwork in a fortification.
    The moons surrounding the city walls were built in the sixteenth century.
  6. The eighteenth trump/major arcana card of the Tarot.
  7. (cartomancy) The thirty-second Lenormand card.
  8. (card games) In hearts, the action of taking all the point cards in one hand.

Usage notes

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Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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  • Sranan Tongo: mun
  • Tok Pisin: mun
  • Torres Strait Creole: mun

Translations

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See moon/translations § Noun.

Verb

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moon (third-person singular simple present moons, present participle mooning, simple past and past participle mooned)

  1. (transitive, colloquial) To display one's buttocks to, typically as a jest, insult, or protest.
    Coordinate terms: flash, streak
    The hooligans mooned the riot police.
    It was ill-advised of Sam to moon the photographer during the shoot.
  2. (intransitive, colloquial) To gaze at lovingly or in adoration.
    • 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 164:
      Bradly stood bewitched, mooning at the moon. Betimes he bent in a grotesque posture and looked at it between his legs, which was to rid his mind of preconceived colour values by seeing them upside down.
  3. (intransitive, colloquial) (usually followed by over or after) To fuss over something adoringly; to be infatuated with someone.
    Sarah mooned over Sam's photograph for months.
    You've been mooning after her forever; why not just ask her out?
    • 2017 January 12, Jesse Hassenger, “A literal monster truck is far from the stupidest thing about Monster Trucks”, in The Onion AV Club‎[1]:
      On some level, the filmmakers behind Monster Trucks must have recognized the ill fit of Till playing a teenager, because they cast Jane Levy, a 27-year-old who can pass for younger but not a decade younger, as Meredith, a nerdy classmate of Tripp’s who moons over him as she insists on making an appointment to tutor him in biology.
    • 2023 September 24, HarryBlank, “Working Wonders”, in SCP Foundation‎[2], archived from the original on 25 May 2024:
      "No, you're right." Udo shook this newest distraction out of her head. She knew it would come creeping back in through the ears in due time, just as she knew the best way to dispel it was to finish the job and link up with the rest of the Site. In any event, there was something in what Brenda had said that didn't make sense... "But why would he be mooning over her, if she's still awake?"

      "Because he's with V—"

      "Veiksaar!" Udo fairly shouted, slapping her forehead. "Oh, shit. This is going to take a lot of getting used to."

  4. To spend time idly, absent-mindedly.
    • 1898, Joseph Conrad, Youth:
      We were only three on board. The poor old skipper mooned in the cabin.
    • 2001, Stephen King, The Death of Jack Hamilton:
      I mooned around. I was mighty sick of the room by then.
  5. (transitive) To expose to the rays of the Moon.
  6. (transitive) To adorn with moons or crescents.
  7. (cryptocurrencies, of a coin or token) To rise in price rapidly or suddenly.
    It is impractical if a currency moons and plummets often.
    • 2019, Mark Grabowski, Cryptocurrencies: A Primer on Digital Money‎[3], Routledge, →ISBN:
      I've followed several of the most popular crypto pundits on Twitter and discovered they constantly brag about their one big Hail Mary pick that mooned but neglect to mention – or delete – their numerous fumbles.
  8. (card games) To shoot the moon.

Translations

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See moon/translations § Verb.
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See also

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Further reading

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English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Anagrams

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Bavarian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Middle High German man, from Old High German man, from Proto-Germanic *mann-. Cognate with German Mann, Dutch man, English man, Icelandic maður, Swedish man, Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌽𐌽𐌰 (manna).

Noun

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moon

  1. (Timau) man
  2. (Timau) husband

References

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Chinese

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Etymology

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Deliberate misspelling of mon. Originated from a post on HKGolden circa 2005.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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moon

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, Internet slang, neologism) Synonym of mon (Classifier: 隻／只 c)

Verb

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moon

  1. (Hong Kong Cantonese, Internet slang, neologism) Synonym of mon

Finnish

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Pronunciation

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Contraction

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moon

  1. (dialectal, South Ostrobothnia) Contraction of mä oon (“I'm”).

Anagrams

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Manx

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Pronunciation

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Alternative forms

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Etymology 1

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From Old Irish mún.

Noun

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moon m (genitive singular mooin, no plural)

  1. verbal noun of moon
  2. urine
Synonyms
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Derived terms
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Etymology 2

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From Old Irish múnaid (“makes water, pisses”).

Verb

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moon (past voon, future independent moonee, verbal noun moon or mooney, past participle moonit)

  1. (transitive, intransitive) urinate, micturate, pee

Mutation

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Manx mutation
Radical Lenition Eclipsis
moon voon unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

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North Frisian

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old Frisian man, from Proto-West Germanic *mann, from Proto-Germanic *mann-.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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moon m (plural mååns or (after numerals) moon) (Mooring)

  1. man (adult male human)
  2. husband

Usage notes

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  • For the plural, kjarls is often preferred; see there.

Teop

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Noun

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moon

  1. woman

References

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