Definition: Mud
Etymology
From Middle English mud, mudde, mode, probably a borrowing from Middle Dutch mod, modde, or Middle Low German mudde, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *mud-, *mudra- (mud), perhaps from Proto-Indo-European *mū-, *mew- (moist).
Cognate with Saterland Frisian Mudde (mud), Middle High German mot (mud), Swedish modd (slush). Compare also suffixed variants West Frisian modder (mud), Dutch modder (mud), German Low German Mudder (mud), German Moder (moldiness, mildew, decay), English mother (vinegar-forming sediment in alcohol), Danish mudder (mud).
Alternative etymology suggests the Proto-Germanic word is possibly borrowed from a Uralic language (compare e.g. Finnish muta (mud), Northern Sami mođđi (mud), from Proto-Uralic *muďa).
Noun
mud (countable and uncountable, plural muds)
- A mixture of water and soil or fine grained sediment.
- A plaster-like mixture used to texture or smooth drywall.
- Willfully abusive, even slanderous remarks or claims, notably between political opponents.
- The campaign issues got lost in all the mud from both parties.
- (geology) A particle less than 62.5 microns in diameter, following the Wentworth scale.
- Drilling fluid.
Derived terms
- bemud
- black mud
- mudball
- mud bath
- muddy
- mudhole
- mud pie
- mudpuddle
- mudskipper
- mudslide
- mudslinger
- mudslinging
- mudstain
- mud wasp
- mudwort
- mud wrestling
Related terms
- muddle
Verb
mud (third-person singular simple present muds, present participle mudding, simple past and past participle mudded)
- To make muddy or dirty; to apply mud to (something).
- To make turbid.
- To go under the mud, as an eel does.
Credits
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