moon

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See also: Moon, mo-on, mòòn, and Möön

English[edit]

The Moon (waning crescent)
The Moon (full)

Etymology[edit]

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).

Pronunciation[edit]

Proper noun[edit]

moon

  1. (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[edit]

moon (plural moons)

  1. (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!
  2. (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.
  3. 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.
  4. A crescent-like outwork in a fortification.
    The moons surrounding the city walls were built in the sixteenth century.
  5. The eighteenth trump/major arcana card of the Tarot.
  6. (cartomancy) The thirty-second Lenormand card.
  7. (card games) In hearts, the action of taking all the point cards in one hand.

Usage notes[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Descendants[edit]

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

Translations[edit]

Verb[edit]

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.
    The hooligans mooned the riot police.
    Coordinate terms: flash, streak
    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.
  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.
  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[2], 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[edit]

Related terms[edit]

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Anagrams[edit]

Bavarian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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[edit]

moon

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

References[edit]

Chinese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

moon

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

Verb[edit]

moon

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

Finnish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

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

Contraction[edit]

moon

  1. (dialectal, southern Ostrobothnia) Contraction of oon (I'm).

Anagrams[edit]

Manx[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Irish mún.

Noun[edit]

moon m (genitive singular mooin, no plural)

  1. verbal noun of moon
  2. urine
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Irish múnaid (makes water, pisses).

Verb[edit]

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

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

Mutation[edit]

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[edit]

North Frisian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

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

Noun[edit]

moon m

  1. (Mooring) man

Teop[edit]

Noun[edit]

moon

  1. woman

References[edit]