Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language.djvu/266

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kinship of Mund and Maul may be found, since the latter is an old *mû-lo-, while the former may represent *mu-nþo (with a partic. suffix, see Zahn). Comp. Sans. mú-kha, ‘mouth.’

Mund (2.), f., ‘protection,’ from MidHG. and OHG. munt, f., ‘protection, hand’; comp. AS. mund, ‘hand, protection,’ OIc. mund, f., ‘hand’; the Du. term still exists in mond-baar with the variant momber, ‘guardian,’ OSax. mundboro, AS. mundbora, OHG. muntboro, MidHG. muntbor, m., ‘protector, tutor’; comp. also Vormund and Mündel. Mund is certainly not connected with Lat. mûnire (with regard to û from Aryan ai, comp. moenia), but is probably derived from a root cognate with that of Lat. manus, ‘hand.’

Mündel, m. and f., ‘ward, minor,’ ModHG. only; in MidHG. mundelinc, ‘ward’ and ‘guardian.’ A derivative of Mund (2).

mündig, adj. from the equiv. MidHG. mündec. adj., ‘of age,’ from Mund (2).

munkeln, vb., ‘to whisper secretly,’ ModHG. only; from the Teut. root munk, mū̆k. See meuchel-.

Münster, n. and m., ‘minster, cathedral,’ from. MidHG. münster, OHG. munustiri, munistri, n., prop. ‘monastery, convent’ (OHG.), then (MidHG.) ‘monastery or convent church, collegiate church, cathedral’; comp. AS. mynster, E. minster. Formed from Lat. and Gr. monastêrium, ‘monastery,’ whence also ModFr. moutier, ‘monastery, convent’ (comp. also OIr. munter, manister, as well as OSlov. monastyrĭ, ‘monastery’). MidLat. monasteria were orig. cellae in quibus unicus degit monachus, then generally ‘monastery,’ finally ‘cathedral,’ quod plerisque in ecclesiis cathedralibus monachi, non ut hodie canonici, olim sacra munera obirent (this signification is found even towards the end of the 11th cent.). Mönch was borrowed at the same period as Münster; comp. Abt and Probst.

munter, adj., ‘cheerful, lively, brisk,’ from MidHG. munter, munder, OHG. muntar, adj., ‘fresh, lively, zealous, wakeful’; probably allied to Goth. mundrel, f., ‘aim,’ and mundôn, vb., ‘to fix one's eyes upon,’ so that ‘striving’ is the orig. meaning of the adj. It is also primit. allied to OSlov. mądrŭ, ‘wise,’ Lith. mundrùs, mandrùs, ‘cheerful.’ Moreover, OHG. muntar may also be connected with OHG. męnden,

OSax. męndian, ‘to rejoice’ (Teut. root manþ).

Münze (1.), f., from the equiv. MidHG. münȥe, OHG. muniȥȥa, f., ‘coin.’ The word was adopted in West Teut. previous to the HG. permutation, probably even before the time of Tacitus, from Lat. monêta, ‘coin, money’; comp. AS. mynet, E. mint, Du. munt. Lat. monêta, on its adoption, was probably pronounced, with a Teut. accent, mónêta; ê passed into î and ŏ into ŭ, later ü; múnita is the initial stage of OHG. múnĭȥȥa. That Lat. words were introduced with Lat. money (Tacit. Germ. 5) is antecedently probable. Comp. Pfund.

Münze (2.), f., equiv. to Minze.

mürbe, adj., ‘tender,’ from MidHG. mürwe, mür, OHG. muruwi, murwi, adj., ‘tender, mellow’; also, with the same sense, OHG. marawi, maro, MidHG. mar (inflect. marwer), AS. mearu. The root mar appears further in Gr. μαραίνω, ‘to cause to wither,’ Sans. mlâ, ‘to fade’; also in OIr. meirb, ‘soft.’

murmeln, vb., ‘to murmur,’ from MidHG. murmeln, OHG. murmulôn, with the parallel form murmurôn, ‘to murmur, grumble’; either from Lat. murmurare, or rather a native onomatopoetic form. See murren.

Murmeltier, n., ‘marmot,’ corrupted in late MidHG. from MidHG. mürmendîn, n., OHG. murmuntî, n., ‘marmot’ (OHG. variant muremunto, m.). The ultimate source of the word is Lat. murem montis (mus montis, mus montanus), whence also the corresponding Ital. marmotta, Fr. marmotte. The OHG. form murmuntî is extended by a diminut. suffix.

murren, vb., ‘to grumble, mutter,’ first occurs in early ModHG. Allied to the equiv. Du. morren, AS. murcnian.

Mus, n., ‘pap, porridge, connection of fruit,’ from MidHG. and OHG. muos, n., ‘cooked food, espec. pap-like food; food, meal’; OSax. and AS. môs, n., ‘food.’ The assumed Goth. *môsa-, ‘food,’ may be connected with mati-, ‘food,’ while *môsa- may represent *môtta- with a dental suffix; in that case the root would be Teut. mat, pre-Teut. mā̆d, ‘to cook, prepare food’ (for Goth. mats, ‘food,’ see Messer and mästen). To this is allied Gemüse, ‘vegetables,’ from MidHG. gemüese (OHG. *gimuosi), n., which as a derivative presumes the more general sense of OHG. muos. See Musteil.