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mud

UK/mʌd/ US/mʊd/ common slang us
noun (2) verb (2)

noun

1.
2.

slanderous remarks or charges

verb

1.

soil with mud, muck, or mire

  • “The child mucked up his shirt while playing ball in the garden”
Synonyms
2.

plaster with mud

Origin

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 English mother (“vinegar-forming sediment in alcohol”), West Frisian modder (“mud”), Dutch modder (“mud”), German Low German Mudder (“mud”), German Moder (“moldiness, mildew, decay”), 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”), Erzya мода (moda, “earth, ground”) from Proto-Uralic *muďa (“earth”)).

Phrases

  • as happy as a pig in mud
  • big ball of mud
  • black mud
  • clear as mud
  • drag through the mud
  • giant mud crab
  • grass mud horse
  • happy as a pig in mud

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.