"M" Word Origins

moe

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese moe (萌え), literally "budding" or "sprouting," from the verb moeru, "to bud" or "sprout."

Moffat

Scottish Gaelic

From Scottish Gaelic magh ("field, plain") plus fada ("long").

moffatt

Origin

Variant of Moffat.

moffett

Origin

Variant of Moffat.

moffitt

Origin

Variant of Moffat.

mofo

Origin

Syllabic abbreviation of motherfucker or motherfucking.

Mogadishu

Arabic

From Arabic Maqadishu, itself derived from an earlier local name for the coastal settlement.

moggy

Origin

Unknown, but probably originally Mog + -y, a Scots or Northern English variant of maggie (“girl”), from Maggie, a diminutive of Margaret and Margery. First attested in reference to mongrel cats in Cockney.

moghul

Origin

Borrowed from Iranian Persian مغول (moġul) (for the spellings moghul and mogul) or from Classical Persian مغول (muġūl, muġōl) and Urdu مغل (muġal) (for other spellings), an Arabic and Persian corruption of Mongol, ultimately from Middle Mongol ᠮᠣᠩᠭᠣᠯ (mongɣol). More at Mughal.

mogo

Portuguese

Traced back through Swahili muhogo and Arabic to Portuguese mandioca, itself borrowed from an indigenous South American word for the plant.

Mogul

Origin

From "Moghul," an old term for the Mongol-descended rulers of the Mughal Empire in India, whose legendary wealth gave the word its modern sense of a powerful magnate.

mohammedan

Origin

From Mohammed + -an, from the earlier form Mahometan, coined in the 17th century.

Mohan

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit, related to a name for the god Krishna.

Mohawk

Dutch

From a Dutch rendering of an Algonquian name for the Mohawk people; the Mohawk's own name for themselves is Kanienʼkehá:ka.

mohican

Origin

From their self-designation in Mahican [Term?] (literally “people of the estuary”), though the precise meaning and etymology have been debated. Doublet of Mahican and Mohegan; compare also Mohawk.

Mohini

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit mohinī, meaning "enchantress."

Mohit

Sanskrit

From Sanskrit mohita, meaning "captivated" or "charmed."

mohon

Origin

* (surname) Altered spelling of Mohan or Mahoney.

moi

French

Borrowed directly from French moi, "me."

moil

Origin

From Middle English mollen (“to soften by wetting”), borrowed from Old French moillier with the same meaning, from Vulgar Latin *molliō, *molliare, from mollis (“soft”).

Moira

Ancient Greek

From the Ancient Greek word moîra, meaning "fate" or "portion."

moishe

Origin

From Yiddish משה (moyshe), from Hebrew משה (moshé).

moist

Latin

From Middle English moist, from Old French moiste, of uncertain further origin, possibly blending a Latin word for "mouldy" with one meaning "grape juice, must."

moisten

Origin

From moist + -en.

moistness

Origin

From Middle English moistnesse, moistnes, equivalent to moist + -ness.

moisture

Old French

From Middle English moisture, from Old French moistour, "dampness."

moisturizer

Origin

Formed from the verb moisturize plus the agent suffix -er.

Mojave

Origin

A Hispanicized spelling of Mohave, the name of an indigenous people of the Colorado River region.

mojito

Spanish

From Spanish mojito, a diminutive of mojo ("sauce"), ultimately from mojar, "to moisten."

mojo

Origin

Likely of West African or Creole origin, related to words for "witchcraft" or "medicine man" in Gullah and Fula.

Mok

Origin

* As a Korean surname, from 목 (mok) * As a transliteration of several Chinese surnames, from 莫, source of above. See Mok. * As a Dutch surname, spelling variant of Mock. * As a Hungarian surname, from the personal name Mók, probably a pet form of Mózes.

Mol

German

Borrowed from German Mol (1897).

molar

Latin

From Latin molaris, "of a millstone," since molars grind food the way a millstone grinds grain.

molarity

English

Formed from mole, the chemical unit of amount, which comes from German Mol, a shortening of Molekulargewicht 'molecular weight'.

molasses

Origin

From Portuguese melaços or Spanish melazos, from Late Latin mellacium (“must, honey-sweet thing”), from mel (“honey”) + -āceus (“-aceous”) + -ium, q.v. Some alternative forms derived or influenced by Spanish melaza and French mélasse, conjectured to derive from unattested Late Latin mellacea, from mel + -ācea.

molbio

Origin

Clipped compound.

mold

Latin

The shaping sense comes from Old French modle, from Latin modulus/modus. The fungus sense has a separate Old English root related to soil.

moldavian

Origin

From Moldavia + -an.

molding

Origin

From mold plus the suffix -ing.

Moldova

Origin

The origin of the name is uncertain, though it is closely tied to the Moldova River that runs through the historical region.

moldy

Origin

Formed from mold plus the adjective suffix -y.

mole

Old English

The skin-spot and animal senses trace back to Old English mal, meaning "spot" or "blemish." The chemistry unit comes from a shortening of "molecule."

molecular

Origin

From molecule plus the adjective suffix -ar.

molecule

New Latin

Borrowed from French molécule, from New Latin molecula, a diminutive of Latin moles, "a mass."

molehill

Origin

A compound of mole and hill; the verb sense comes from the idiom "make a mountain out of a molehill."

molest

Latin

From Old French molester, from Latin molestus, "troublesome," itself from moles, "a burden."

molestation

Latin

From Old French molestacion, ultimately from Latin molestus, "troublesome."

molester

Origin

From molest plus the agent suffix -er.