moor · noun — an extensive waste covered with patches of heath, and having a poor, light (and usually acidic) soil, but sometimes marshy, and abounding in peat; a heath. (Compare bog, peatland, marsh, swamp, fen.). It carries an Arena rating of 1421, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, moor ranks #2,005 of 17,115 for Most Storied Words, #2,183 of 17,134 for Most Elegant Words, #2,245 of 17,143 for Scariest Words, #4,153 of 17,135 for Most Beautiful Words.
moor is pronounced /mʊə/.
Why “moor” is a great word
An expanse of open, uncultivated, often heath-covered land with poor, acidic soil, typically found in upland areas. From Middle English *mor*, from Old English *mōr* ("moor, morass, swamp"), from Proto-West Germanic *mōr*, from Proto-Germanic *mōraz* ("sea, lake, moor"), from Proto-Indo-European *móri* ("sea, standing water"), attested in Old English. Unlike "bog," a soft, spongy wetland of decayed plant matter, or "heath," a level, shrubby tract, a moor is a high, wet desolation, a peat-stained compromise between earth and sky. It is the purple bloom of heather stretching to a low horizon, the sudden suck of peat underfoot, and the cry of a curlew dissolving into gray air. The land holds its breath, ancient and indifferent, shaped by water that lingers just below the surface.
❧ Essay by Lexicurio’s AI · definition, etymology & citations from published sources
Etymology
From Middle English mor, from Old English mōr, from Proto-West Germanic *mōr, from Proto-Germanic *mōraz, from Proto-Indo-European *móri. Cognates include Welsh môr, Old Irish muir (from Proto-Celtic *mori); Scots muir, Dutch moer, Old Saxon mōr, Old Saxon mūr, German Moor and perhaps also Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐍂𐌴𐌹 (marei). See mere.
noun
- An extensive waste covered with patches of heath, and having a poor, light (and usually acidic) soil, but sometimes marshy, and abounding in peat; a heath. (Compare bog, peatland, marsh, swamp, fen.)e.g.“A cold, biting wind blew across the moor, and the travellers hastened their step.”
- A game preserve consisting of moorland.
- A member of an ancient Amazigh people from Mauretania.
- A member of an Islamic people of Arab or Amazigh origin ruling Spain and parts of North Africa from the 8th to the 15th centuries.
- A Muslim or a person from the Middle East or Africa.
- A person of mixed Arab and Amazigh ancestry inhabiting the Mediterranean coastline of northwest Africa.
- A person of an ethnic group speaking the Hassaniya Arabic language, mainly inhabiting Western Sahara, Mauritania, and parts of neighbouring countries (Morocco, Mali, Senegal etc.).
name
- A surname.; A surname from Irish.
- A surname.; An English surname transferred from the given name.
verb
- To cast anchor or become fastened.e.g.“The vessel moored in the stream.”
- To fix or secure (e.g. a vessel) in a particular place by casting anchor, or by fastening with ropes, cables or chains or the like.e.g.“They moored the boat to the wharf.”
- To secure or fix firmly.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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