"M" Word Origins

moley

Origin

Simply mole (the burrowing animal, or the skin mark) with the adjective ending -y added, the same pattern as in "holey" or "stony".

Molina

Latin

From Latin molina ("of a mill"), compare Miller.

moll

Origin

From Moll, an old nickname for the name Mary.

mollie

Origin

A diminutive form, ultimately linked to the genus name Mollienesia, once used for these fish.

mollify

Origin

From Middle English mollifien, from Late Latin mollificō, from Latin mollis (“soft”). By surface analysis, Latin moll- + -ify.

Molloy

Irish

Anglicized from Irish Ó Maolmhuaidh, meaning "descendant of Maolmhuadh."

molly

Origin

From the personal name Molly, a pet form of Mary; the drug sense likely comes from "molecular," referencing pure MDMA.

mollycoddle

Origin

From molly + coddle.

mollymawk

Origin

Ultimately from Dutch mallemok (from malle (“foolish”)), probably influenced by German Mallemucke. Compare Japanese 信天翁(あほうどり) (ahōdori, “albatross, foolish bird”).

Moloch

Origin

From a Proto-Semitic root meaning "king"; the figurative sense comes from Biblical references to human sacrifice associated with the deity.

Molotov

Origin · 1939

Named after the Soviet foreign minister Vyacheslav Molotov — the Finns coined the term mockingly during the 1939-40 Winter War.

molten

Old English

From Old English molten, the old past participle of "melt" — it survives today mainly as an adjective rather than a verb form.

moly

Ancient Greek

From Latin mōly, borrowed from Ancient Greek môlu, the name of the mythical protective plant in Homer's Odyssey.

mom

Origin

A shortened, informal form of "momma," itself derived from baby-talk repetition of the "ma" sound found across many languages.

Mombasa

Swahili

From Swahili Mombasa.

moment

Origin

Unexplained English surname.

momentarily

Origin

Formed from "momentary" plus the adverb-forming suffix "-ly."

momentary

Late Latin

From Late Latin mōmentārius, "of brief duration," built on mōmentum, "a short time, an instant."

momently

Origin

From Middle English momently, equivalent to moment + -ly.

momentous

Origin

From "moment" in the older sense of "weight, importance," plus the adjective suffix "-ous."

moments

Latin

Plural of moment, from Latin momentum 'movement, an instant of time'.

momentum

Latin

Borrowed directly from Latin mōmentum, "movement, moving power" — the same root that gives us "moment."

momma

Origin

A variant of mama.

mommick

Origin

Apparently a variant of mammock.

mommy

Origin

Formed from "mom" plus the diminutive "-y" ending, in the same pattern as "daddy" from "dad."

momo

Chinese

Borrowed via Tibetan from Mandarin Chinese mómo, meaning steamed bun.

Momoko

Japanese

From Japanese Momoko.

moms

Origin

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

mon

Japanese

Multiple unrelated origins: the interjection is a dialect shortening of "come on"; the crest sense comes from Japanese 文 (mon).

mona

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish mona, meaning "female monkey."

Monaco

Ancient Greek

Ultimately from Ancient Greek Mónoikos, associated with Hercules and said to mean "he who dwells alone."

monad

Origin

From Latin monas (“unit”) (from Ancient Greek μονάς (monás), from μόνος (mónos), from Proto-Indo-European *men-). By surface analysis, mono- + -ad.

Monahan

Irish

Anglicized from Irish Ó Manacháin, related to Monaghan.

monarch

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek monárkhēs, "sole ruler," combining mónos ("alone") and arkhós ("leader").

monarchical

Origin

From monarch + -ical, perhaps after Middle French monarchique.

monarchy

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek monarkhía, built from mónos ("only") and arkhḗ ("rule, authority").

monastery

Ancient Greek

From Ancient Greek monastḗrion, "hermitage," ultimately from mónos, "alone" — the same root that gives us "monk."

monastic

Late Latin

From Late Latin monasticus, tied to the same Greek root as "monastery."

monaural

Origin

From mon- + aural. First use appears c. 1888

Monday

Latin

From Old English mōnandæġ, "day of the moon" — a direct translation of the Latin diēs Lūnae.

Mondays

Origin

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

monde

French

Borrowed from French monde, "world."

mondo

Japanese

Borrowed from Japanese mondō, originally referring to a question-and-answer exchange in Zen Buddhism, though the English slang sense developed its own casual meaning of "huge" or "extreme."

Monet

French

A French pet form of names ending in -mon, such as Simon.

monetary

Latin

From Latin monētārius, "pertaining to money," ultimately from monēta, "mint, coinage" — the same root as "money" and "mint."

monetize

Latin

From Latin moneta 'mint, coinage', via French monétiser.

money

Latin

From Latin moneta, "mint" — from the temple of Juno Moneta in Rome, where Roman coins were struck.

moneygrubber

Origin

From money + grubber.