moon English · revision 3794

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=inherited|attested=c. 888|origins=ine-pro *me(n)ses-}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: /muːn/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is [[inh|enm|mone]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) [[inh|ang|mōna]],^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) from [[gem-pro|*menon-]],^(Etymonline) the source also of Old Saxon and Old High German māno, Old Norse máni, Dutch maan, German Mond and Gothic mena.^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988) It goes back to [[ine-pro|*me(n)ses-|t=moon, month]],^(Etymonline) also the source of Sanskrit mās “moon, month”, Greek mḗnē “moon” and mḗn “month”, Latin mēnsis “month”, Lithuanian mėnesis “moon, month” and Old Irish mí “month”,^(Etymonline)^(Barnhart 1988)^(MWU 2024) from the root *me- “to measure”, the moon's phases being an ancient measure of time.^(Etymonline)^(Hoad 1986)^(NODE 1998) It is related to [[month]], [[measure]] and [[menstrual]].^(Cresswell 2021)^(Hoad 1986)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ The earth's satellite: about 888 in the OED.^(OED 1989) Old English mōna is recorded before 725.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Mōna was a masculine noun in Old English; after grammatical gender was lost, the moon was spoken of as “she” from about 1290.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) In Greek, Latin, Celtic and Armenian the cognate words now mean only “month”.^(Etymonline) From about 1000 a moon was also a lunar month.^(OED 1989) The belief that the moon is made of green cheese is proverbial from 1528,^(OED 1989) the man in the moon is from the Middle Ages,^(Cresswell 2021) ''to cry for the moon'' from the mid-16th century and ''over the moon'' from the early 18th century, after the nursery rhyme in which the cow jumps over the moon.^(Cresswell 2021) The verb meant “to expose to moonlight” about 1600,^(Etymonline) then “to idle about, wander or gaze moodily” (1836).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) “To show the bare buttocks” is American student slang by 1968, from the noun moon “buttocks” (1756).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * c. 888 – the earth's satellite.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1000 – a lunar month.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1290 – referred to as feminine.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1528 – the green-cheese proverb.^(OED 1989)

+ * c. 1600 – verb, to expose to moonlight.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1756 – the buttocks.^(Etymonline)

+ * 1836 – to idle about.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1968 – to show the bare buttocks.^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # The natural [[satellite]] of the Earth, shining by reflected sunlight.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A natural satellite of another [[planet]].^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # The moon as it appears at a given time; a phase of it.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # A month, especially a lunar month.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # Something unattainable: ''promised them the moon''.^(AHD)

+

+ ===Verb===

+ # To pass time idly and aimlessly.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+ # To yearn or pine as if infatuated.^(AHD)

+ # ''(slang)'' To show one's bare buttocks as a prank or insult.^(AHD)^(MW Collegiate)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[moonlike]]

+ * [[mooner]]

+ * [[moonless]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[month]]

+ * [[measure]]

+ * [[menstrual]]

+ * [[meter]]

+ * [[Monday]]

+ * [[semester]]

+ * [[menopause]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ Moon type, an embossed type for blind readers, is named after William Moon (1818–94), its inventor.^(OED 1989)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}