Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/262

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Molch, m., ‘salamander’; the suffix ch first appears in early ModHG. (comp. Habicht); from MidHG. mol, n., molle, m., ‘lizard, salamander,’ OHG. mol, with the variants molm and molt. Du. mol and MidE. molle signify ‘mole.’ It is not certain whether the word in both senses is orig. the same. OHG. mol, ‘lizard,’ has also been connected with the root mat, ‘to grind, pulverise.’

Molke, f., ‘whey,’ from MidHG. molken, molchen (also with u-ü instead of o), n., ‘whey,’ also ‘milk and that which is prepared from milk’; OHG. *molchan is wanting. AS. molcen, n., testifies, however, to the antiquity of MidHG. molken, which is a derivative of melken, Teut. root melk; comp. melken and Milch.

Monat, m. (with ModHG. ô from MidHG. â before a nasal, as in Mohn, Mond, Brombeere, ohne, &c.), from the equiv. MidHG. mânôt (d), OHG. mânôd, m., ‘month’; comp. Goth. mênôþs, AS. mônað, E. month. The common Teut. term mênôþ-, ‘month’ (pre-Teut. mênôt-), seems identical with Mond, OTeut. mênin-. The computation of time according to the periods of the moon is perhaps OAryan, since the terms for month in the Aryan languages agree approximately. See under Mond.

Mönch, m., ‘monk, friar,’ from the equiv. MidHG. münch, münech, OHG. munih (hh), m. From the prim. form muniko-, monico-, the equiv. Fr. moine is also derived. In the original Lat. word monachus (μοναχός), ‘monk,’ the ch was probably pronounced as c; comp. Ital. monaco, OIr. manach, AS. munuc, E. monk; so that OHG. ch is the HG. permutation of k. In that case Mönch was borrowed at an earlier period than Abt and Pabst (see Münster). OSlov. mŭnichŭ is a G. loanword.

Mond, m., ‘moon,’ from MidHG. mâne, m., ‘moon, month’ (MidHG. rarely fem.), OHG. mâno, m., ‘moon’; even in MidHG. occurs a form with a final dental, mânt, mânde, which is due to confusion with mânet (yet comp. Elentier and niemand), Goth. mêna, AS. môna, m., E. moon, Du. maan. In the form mêno, m., a common Teut. term for ‘moon’ (a later fem. form appears in MidHG. mœnîn, OHG. mânîn); it is based, like most of the terms for ‘moon’ and ‘month’ in the cognate Aryan languages, on Aryan mên, mênôt, or mênes. Comp. Sans. mâs, m. (for mâis, mêns),

‘moon, month,’ mâsa, m., ‘month,’ Gr. μήν (for *μήνς), ‘month,’ Lat. mensis, ‘month,’ OSlov. měsęcĭ, m., ‘moon, month,’ Lith. měnů, ‘moon,’ měnesis, ‘month,’ OIr. mí. The exact relation of Teut. mênôþ-, mênan-, to Lat.-Gr. mêns- (*mênes-) is disputed. The derivation of the stems mên, mêns, from the Aryan root mē̆, ‘to measure’ (Sans. mâ, ‘to measure, mete out,’ mâtram, Gr. μέτρον, ‘measure,’ see Mahl, messen), may accord with the facts of the case (the moon was regarded as the measurer of time), yet from the historical and linguistic standpoint it cannot be considered a certainty. Comp. Monat and Montag.

Montag, m., ‘Monday’; with the môn of Mond without the later d; MidHG. mântac (Suab. and Bav. mœntac, with mutation), OHG. mânatag (*mânintag?), m., ‘Monday’; comp. Du. maandag, AS. mônandœg, E. Monday (*môn equiv. to ‘moon’), OIc. mánadagr. The common Teut. term for Lat. dies Lunae (Fr. lundi, Ital. lunedi).

Moor, m. and n., ‘moor,’ ModHG. only, from LG. môr; comp. Du. moer, OSax. môr, n., AS. môr, n., ‘moor, swamp,’ E. moor; corresponding to OHG. and MidHG. muor, n., ‘swamp,’ seldom ‘sea’; scarcely akin to OIc. mó-r (gen. mó-s), m., ‘moor, dry heath’ OHG. muor, as well as AS. môr (Goth. *môra- is wanting), is rather relate by gradation to Meer, OHG. męri, AS. męre, Goth. marei,. or, if r is derived by rhotacism from s, the cognates are connected with OHG. and MidHG. mos, ‘swamp’; this, however, after the remarks made under Moos, is hardly probable.

Moos, n., ‘moss,’ from MidHG. and OHG. mos, n., ‘moss, moor, swamp’ (whence Fr. mousse, ‘moss’); corresponding to Du. mos, ‘moss,’ E. moss, OIc. mose, m., ‘moss, swamp,’ to which OIc. mýrr (E. mire), ‘slime,’ is allied. To these are related by gradation AS. meós, OHG. mios, MidHG. mies, m. and n., ‘moss,’ whence also ModHG. Mies. The senses ‘moss, swamp,’ may be associated by the connecting link ‘mossy ground,’ hence the assumption of two orig. different words is not required, *mosa-, ‘moss’ (by gradation *miusa, ‘moss,’ OHG. mios, AS. meós, ‘moss’), and mosa-, ‘swamp’ (by gradation *môsa, ‘moor,’ OHG. muor, comp. Meos). Goth. *musa, by gradation *miusa-, ‘moss,’ is connected with OSlov. mŭchŭ ‘moss,’ Lith. mūsaí, ‘mould’ (on liquids), and Lat. muscus, ‘moss,’ which has a