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moon

The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology

moon the satellite of the earth OE.; (lunar) month XIV. OE. mōna = OS. māno (Du. maan fem.), OHG. māno (G. mond), ON. māni, Goth. mēna :- Gmc. *mænan-, prob. rel. to *mænōþ- MONTH: cogn. words for ‘moon’ and ‘month’ based on *mēn(e)s- are L. mēnsis month, Gr. meís, mḗn month. mḗnē moon. Skr. mā́s- moon, month, Ir. mi month, OSl. mēsęcl̂ moon, month; referred ult. to the IE. base *mē-, as in L. mētīrī MEASURE, the moon being the star by which time is measured.

The foll. comps. are of special interest: mooncalf † false conception XVI; born fool XVII; perh. after G. mondkalb; cf. G. mondkind, MLG. maanenkind ‘moon-child’. moonlight XIV; hence moonlighting operation (esp. illicit) by night. XIX. moonlit XIX. moonshine moonlight; appearance without substance, empty talk, etc. XV. moonstone XVII; after L. selēnitēs SELENITE. moonstruck deranged, as if by the influence of the moon (cf. lunatic). XVII.

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© The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology 1996, originally published by Oxford University Press 1996.

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