"M" Word Origins

muir

Origin

From Scots muir, meaning "moor."

mujahid

Origin

Borrowed from Arabic مُجَاهِد (mujāhid), derived from the active participle of جَاهَدَ (jāhada, “to strive in the cause of God”) (verbal noun: جِهَاد (jihād, “to strive in the cause of God as a religious duty”)), from the root ج ه د (j h d).

Mukherjee

Origin

An anglicization of Bengali মুখুজ্জে (mukhujje).

Mukhtar

Arabic

From North Levantine Arabic مختار (“village headman”), from substantive application of Arabic مُخْتَار (muḵtār, “chosen”), the passive participle of اِخْتَارَ (iḵtāra, “to elect, to choose”). Specific application with influence from various local languages including Ottoman Turkish مختار (muhtar, “village headman”) and Bengali মুখতার (mukhtar), Marathi मुख्तार (mukhtār), and Urdu مختار (muktār, “agent; lawyer”). Within Indian English, the application of mukhtar is influenced by a folk etymology derivation from Sanskrit मुक्ति (mukti, “liberation, becoming or setting free”). Doublet of muhtar.

mukluk

Origin

Borrowed from Yup'ik maklak (“bearded seal”), referring to sealskin used to make boots, originally derived from Proto-Eskimo *makla (“bearded seal, spotted seal”).

Mulan

Origin

From Mandarin 木蘭／木兰 (Mùlán), literally "magnolia".

mulatto

Spanish

Borrowed from Spanish/Portuguese mulato, related to mulo ("mule"), possibly alluding to mixed origin.

mulberry

Latin

From Middle English mulbery, partly from Old English and partly from a Low German word, ultimately from Latin morus ("mulberry tree").

Mulcahy

Irish

A reduced anglicized form of Irish Ó Maolchathaigh ("descendant of the devotee of Saint Cathach").

mulch

Old English

Probably from an Old English word meaning "mellow" or "soft," related to a root meaning "honeyed."

mulct

Origin

From Middle French mulcter (“to fine, punish”), from Latin mulcta (“penalty, fine”). Possibly a doublet of milk.

Mulder

Dutch

Borrowed from Dutch Mulder.

Muldoon

Irish

From Irish Ó Maoldúin ("descendant of Maoldúin").

mule

Latin

From Latin mulus, via Old English mul and Anglo-Norman mule.

mules

Origin

Named after John Mules, the farmer who invented the procedure.

Mulholland

Irish

From Irish Ó Maolchalann, "descendant of Maolchalann."

muliebral

Origin

From Latin muliebris (“womanly”) + -al.

muliebrity

Origin

From Late Latin muliebritās (“womanhood; womanliness”), from Latin muliēbris (“feminine, womanly”) + -tās (suffix forming nouns indicating a state of being); or from muliēbris + -ity; compare Middle French muliebrité. Muliēbris is derived from mulier (“woman; wife”) (from mollior (“softer; milder; weaker”), comparative form of mollis (“soft; mild, tender; weak”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mel- (“soft; tender; weak”)) + -brīs (noun suffix denoting a person).

mulier

Origin

From Middle English mulier(e), moillere, muliery (“adj.: legitimate, both in wedlock; noun: wedlock”), from Anglo-Norman muil(l)eré, moil(l)eré (“legitimate; of legitimate birth”) or Old French moil(l)eré, ultimately from Latin mulier (“woman”).

mull

Latin

The "think it over" sense traces to Middle English words for dust or soft matter, tangled up over time with a separate French/Latin root meaning "soft" (related to Latin mollis) — the same soft, worked-over idea that gives us "mull over."

mulla

Origin

Unknown.

mullah

Arabic

From Persian mullā, borrowed from Arabic mawlan, meaning something like "guardian" or "master."

muller

Origin

From "mull" (to heat, grind, or work something over) plus the agent-noun ending "-er."

mullered

Origin

From muller (“to destroy; to beat or thrash; to utterly defeat or outplay”) + -ed (suffix forming past tense and past participle forms of regular verbs). Muller is probably derived from Angloromani mul-, the preterite stem of mer- (“to die”) (compare mullered, mullo (“dead”, adjective); ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mer- (“to die; to disappear”)) + English -er (suffix forming frequentative verbs).

mullet

Latin

From Old French mulet, ultimately from Latin mullus ("red mullet"), from a Greek word for the same fish.

Mulligan

Irish

A reduced anglicized form of Irish Ó Maolagáin, from maolagán ("person with cropped hair").

mullock

Origin

From mull + -ock.

mulloy

Origin

Variant of Molloy.

multi

Latin

A clipped, informal use of the Latin-derived prefix "multi-," meaning "many."

multicentennial

Origin

From multi- + centennial.

multicooker

Origin

From multi- + cooker.

multicropping

Origin

From multi- + cropping.

multifaceted

French

From multi-, from Latin multus 'many', and facet, from French facette 'little face', the term for a cut surface on a gem.

multifarious

Origin

From Latin multifārius.

multimillionaire

Origin

From "multi-" (many) plus "millionaire."

multinational

Origin

From "multi-" (many) plus "national."

multinationally

Origin

From multinational + -ly.

multiple

Late Latin

From French multiple, from Late Latin multiplus.

multiplex

Latin

A learned borrowing from Latin multiplex, from "multi-" (many) plus "-plex" (fold).

multiplicate

Origin

Borrowed from Latin multiplicātus, perfect passive participle of multiplicō, see -ate (etymology 1, 2 and 3).

multiplication

Latin

From Old French multiplicacion, from Latin multiplicatio, built from multiplicare ("to multiply").

multiplicative

Origin

From 6th-century Latin multiplicativus, from Classical Latin multiplicāre (“to multiply”).

multiplicity

Origin

Derived from Latin multiplicitas.

multiply

Latin

From Old French multiplier, from Latin multiplicare, built from multi- ("many") and plicare ("to fold").

multisecular

Origin

From multi- (“many”) + secular (“of or related to centuries”).

multisexual

Origin

From multi- + sexual, by analogy with bisexual.

multitude

Latin

From Old French multitude, from Latin multitudo, from multus ("many, much").

multitudinous

Origin

Learned borrowing from Latin multitūdin- (the oblique stem of multitūdō (“great number (of people), multitude”)) + English -ous (suffix forming adjectives from nouns, denoting the presence of a quality in any degree (typically an abundance)). Multitūdō is derived from multus (“many; much”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *mel- (“to be late; to worry”)) + -tūdō (suffix forming abstract nouns denoting a condition or state). By surface analysis, multitude + -in- (interfix used before Latinate suffixes appended to nouns ending with -itude or -tude) + -ous.