moult

moult
\ \ [14] The etymological meaning of moult is simply ‘change’. It comes (via an assumed but never recorded Old English *mūtian) from a prehistoric Germanic verb borrowed from Latin mūtāre ‘change’ (source of English mutate). The extreme semantic narrowing down from ‘change’ to ‘change a coat of feathers’ is shown too in the related mews, which originally denoted ‘cages for moulting hawks’. The spelling with l, which started to appear in the 16th century, is due to association with words such as fault, whose l at that time was generally not pronounced. When it began to be, moult followed suit.
\ \ Cf.⇒ MEWS, MUTATE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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Synonyms:
, , , , , (feathers, hair, etc.),


Look at other dictionaries:

  • moult — moult …   Dictionnaire des rimes

  • moult — [ mult ] adv. • mult Xe; lat. multum « beaucoup », cf. multitude ♦ Vx ou iron. Beaucoup, très. Raconter une histoire avec moult détails. ● moult adjectif invariable (latin multum) …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • moult — Moult, C est beaucoup. Il vient de Multum Latin. Il est moult joyeux, Valde multumque laetus. L Italien dit de mesmes Molto, et l Espagnol Mucho, et Muy. Ce vocable estoit commun et fort usité envers les anciens, ce qu il n est pas à present, et… …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

  • Moult — País …   Wikipedia Español

  • moult — BrE molt AmE [məult US moult] v when a bird or animal moults, it loses feathers or hair so that new ones can grow >moult[i] n [U and C] …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Moult — (m[=o]lt), v. & n. See {Molt}. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • moult — [ moult ] the British spelling of molt …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • moult´er — moult «mohlt», intransitive verb, transitive verb, noun. Especially British. molt. –moult´er, noun …   Useful english dictionary

  • moult — see MOLT (Cf. molt) …   Etymology dictionary

  • moult — is the spelling in BrE for the verb meaning ‘to shed feathers or hair etc.’ and for the corresponding noun. In AmE the spelling is molt …   Modern English usage

  • moult — MOULT. adv. Vieux mot qui n a plus d usage que dans le burlesque, & qui signifie Beaucoup, en grande quantité …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

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