moon

See also: Moon, mo-on, mòòn, and Möön

English

The Moon (waning crescent)

The Moon (full)

Etymology

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”), West Frisian moanne (“moon”), Dutch maan (“moon”), German Mond (“moon”), Danish måne (“moon”), Norwegian Bokmål måne (“moon”), Norwegian Nynorsk måne (“moon”), Swedish måne (“moon”), Icelandic máni (“moon”), Latin mēnsis (“month”). See also month, a related term within Indo-European.

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /muːn/
Audio (RP) (file)
Audio (RP) (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /mun/
Audio (GA) (file)
Rhymes: -uːn

Proper noun

moon

(with "the", singular only) Alternative letter-case form of Moon (“the Earth's only permanent natural satellite”).
- 1886, Peter Christen Asbjørnsen, H.L. Brækstad, transl., 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

moon (plural moons)

(colloquial, 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!
(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, page 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.
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.
A crescent-like outwork in a fortification.
The moons surrounding the city walls were built in the sixteenth century.
The eighteenth trump/major arcana card of the Tarot.
(cartomancy) The thirty-second Lenormand card.
(card games) In hearts, the action of taking all the point cards in one hand.

Synonyms

(Earth's sole natural satellite): Moon
(natural satellite of a planet): satellite
(month): calendar month, lunar month, month
See also Thesaurus:moon

Derived terms

ask for the moon
blood moon
blue moon
bomber's moon
crescent moon
exomoon
fingernail moon
full moon
Galilean moon
gibbous moon
half moon
hang the moon
harvest moon
honey moon
honeymoon
howl at the moon
hunter's moon
man in the moon
many moons ago
midsummer moon
minimoon, mini-moon
moon bag
moonball
moonbat
moon bear
moon-blind, moonblind, moon blind
moon boot
moon bounce, moonbounce
moonbow
mooncake, moon cake
mooncalf
moonchild, moon-child, moon child
mooncusser
moonet
moonette
mooney
mooneye, moon-eye, moon eye
moon-face
moon-faced
moonfall
moonfish
moonflower
moonful
moongazing
moonglade
moon guitar
moonhood
moonie
mooning
moonish
moonito
moon landing
moon language
moonless, moon-less
moonlet
moon letter
moonlight, moon-light
moonlit, moon-lit
moonly
moonmoon, moon-moon, moon moon
moon on a stick
moon pie
moon pool, moonpool
moonquake, moon-quake
moonraker
moonrat
moonrise, moon-rise, moon rise
moonroof
moonrunes
moonsail
moonsault
moonscape
moonset, moon-set, moon set
moonshine, moon-shine
moon shot, moon-shot, moonshot
moonsickle
moonspeak, moon-speak
moonstone
moonstruck
moonwake
moonwalk
moonward
moonwort
moony
moon zither
new moon
old moon
once in a blue moon
over the moon
phase of the moon
promise the moon
quarter moon
quarternary moon
quasimoon, quasi-moon
secondary moon
shepherd moon
shoot the moon
smuggler's moon
submoon, sub-moon
supermoon, super-moon
tertiary moon
thumbnail moon
Trojan moon
waning moon
waxing moon

Descendants

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

Translations

See moon/translations § Noun.

Verb

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

(transitive, colloquial) To display one's buttocks to, typically as a jest, insult, or protest.
The hooligans mooned the riot police.
Coordinate terms: flash, streak
It was ill-advised of Sam to moon the photographer during the shoot.
(intransitive, colloquial) To gaze at lovingly or in adoration.
- 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, Sydney: Ure Smith, published 1962, OCLC 751607287, 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.
(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:
  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.
To spend time idly, absent-mindedly.
- 1898, Joseph Conrad, Youth:
  We were only three on board. The poor old skipper mooned in the cabin.
(transitive) To expose to the rays of the Moon.
(transitive) To adorn with moons or crescents.
(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, 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.
(card games) To shoot the moon.

Translations

See moon/translations § Verb.

Related terms

month
moonsick

Anagrams

Mono, OMON, mono, mono-, nomo-

Bavarian

Alternative forms

mon, mònn

Etymology

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

moon

(Timau) man
(Timau) husband

References

Patuzzi, Umberto, ed., (2013) Luserna / Lusérn: Le nostre parole / Ünsarne börtar / Unsere Wörter [Our Words], Luserna, Italy: Comitato unitario delle isole linguistiche storiche germaniche in Italia / Einheitskomitee der historischen deutschen Sprachinseln in Italien

Finnish

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈmoːn/, [ˈmo̞ːn]
Rhymes: -oːn
Syllabification^(key): moon

Contraction

moon

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

Anagrams

mono, mono-

Manx

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /muːn/

Alternative forms

mooin, mooyn

Etymology 1

From Old Irish mún.

Noun

moon m (genitive singular mooin, no plural)

verbal noun of moon
urine

Synonyms

feayl

Derived terms

mooynlagh m (“sewage”)

Etymology 2

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

Verb

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

(transitive, intransitive) urinate, micturate, pee

Mutation

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

G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “mún”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “múnaid”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

North Frisian

Etymology

From Old Frisian man, from Proto-Germanic *mann-, probably ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mon-.

Noun

moon m

(Mooring) man

Teop

Noun

moon

woman

References

Ulrike Mosel, The Teop sketch grammar

moon

English

Etymology

Pronunciation

Proper noun

Noun

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

Translations

Verb

Translations

Related terms

See also

Further reading

Anagrams

Bavarian

Alternative forms

Etymology

Noun

References

Finnish

Pronunciation

Contraction

Anagrams

Manx

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

Noun

Synonyms

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Verb

Mutation

References

North Frisian

Etymology

Noun

Teop

Noun

References