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Moors

 - 7 dictionary results

moor

1  [moor]
Use Moors in a Sentence
–noun
1. a tract of open, peaty, wasteland, often overgrown with heath, common in high latitudes and altitudes where drainage is poor; heath.
2. a tract of land preserved for game.
Origin:
bef. 900; ME more, OE mōr; c. D moer, G Moor marsh

Related forms:
moory, adjective

moor

2  [moor]
–verb (used with object)
1. to secure (a ship, boat, dirigible, etc.) in a particular place, as by cables and anchors or by lines.
2. to fix firmly; secure.
–verb (used without object)
3. to moor a ship, small boat, etc.
4. to be made secure by cables or the like.
–noun
5. the act of mooring.
Origin:
1485–95; earlier more, akin to OE mǣrels- in mǣrelsrāp rope for mooring a ship; see marline

Moor

  [moor]
–noun
1. a Muslim of the mixed Berber and Arab people inhabiting NW Africa.
2. a member of this group that invaded Spain in the 8th century a.d. and occupied it until 1492.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME More < MF, var. of Maure < L Maurus < Gk Maûros
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To Moors
moor 1   (mŏŏr)   
v.   moored, moor·ing, moors

v.   tr.

  1. To make fast (a vessel, for example) by means of cables, anchors, or lines: moor a ship to a dock; a dirigible moored to a tower.

  2. To fix in place; secure. See Synonyms at fasten.

v.   intr.

  1. To secure a vessel or an aircraft with lines or anchors.

  2. To be secured with lines or anchors: The freighter moored alongside the wharf.


[Middle English moren.]
moor 2   (mŏŏr)   
n.  A broad area of open land, often high but poorly drained, with patches of heath and peat bogs.

[Middle English mor, from Old English mōr.]
Moor   (mŏŏr)   
n.  

  1. A member of a Muslim people of mixed Berber and Arab descent, now living chiefly in northwest Africa.

  2. One of the Muslims who invaded Spain in the 8th century and established a civilization in Andalusia that lasted until the late 15th century.


[Middle English More, from Old French, from Medieval Latin Mōrus, from Latin Maurus, Mauritanian, from Greek Mauros.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

Moor 
"North African, Berber," 1390, from O.Fr. More, from M.L. Morus, from L. Maurus "inhabitant of Mauritania" (northwest Africa, a region now corresponding to northern Algeria and Morocco), from Gk. Mauros, perhaps a native name, or else cognate with mauros "black" (but this adj. only appears in late Gk. and may as well be from the people's name as the reverse). Being a dark people in relation to Europeans, their name in the Middle Ages was a synonym for "Negro;" later (16c.-17c.) used indiscriminately of Muslims (Persians, Arabs, etc.) but especially those in India.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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