moult

See also:Moult

English

Alternative forms

• molt(US)

Etymology

FromMiddle Englishmouten,fromOld English*mutian(cf.bemutian), fromLatinmūtō, mūtāre.Doubletofmuteandmutate.Un-etymological ⟨l⟩ was introduced into the spelling by mistakenly assuming a French origin with-l-(comparefault,vaultandsolderwith correctly restored etymological ⟨l⟩).

Pronunciation

• (General American)IPA^(key):/moʊlt/
• (UK)IPA^(key):/mɒlt/
• (Received Pronunciation)IPA^(key):/məʊlt/

• Audio(Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes:-əʊlt

Noun

moult(pluralmoults)

1. The process ofsheddingor losing a covering offur,feathersorskinetc.

   Synonyms:ecdysis,moulting

   Some birds change colour during their wintermoult.

2. Theskinorfeatherscast offduring the process of moulting.

   Synonym:exuvia

Derived terms

• catastrophic moult

Translations

process

• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Thay lông／Thay lông(zh)(huànmáo),(of birds)Đổi vũ／Đổi vũ(zh)(huànyǔ),Lui mao(zh)(tuìmáo)

• Czech:(fur)línánín,(feathers)pelichánín,(skin)svlékánín,přepeřenín
• Dutch:rui(nl)m
• Finnish:karvanlähtö(fi)(of fur);sulkasato(fi)(of feathers);nahanluonti(fi)(of skin)
• French:mue(fr)f
• Galician:muda(gl)f
• German:Mauser(de)f(feathers),Häutungf(skin)
• Hungarian:(skin, exoskeleton, fur)vedlés(hu),(feathers)tollhullatás
• Indonesian:pergantian kulit(id)
• Italian:muta(it),muda
• Japanese:Rút け thế わり(ぬけかわり, nukekawari)
• Kalmyk:хагз(xagz)
• Korean:허물을 벗다(heomureul beotda)
• Maori:turukitanga
• Portuguese:muda(pt)f
• Romanian:năpârlire(ro)f
• Russian:ли́нька(ru)f(línʹka)
• Spanish:muda(es)f
• Swedish:ömsning(sv),(of feathers)ruggning

skin or feathers cast off

• Czech:svlečkaf
• Finnish:luotunahka(skin)
• French:mue(fr)f
• Galician:muda(gl)f
• Icelandic:(of insects and reptiles)hamskiptinpl,(of birds)fjaðrafellirm
• Japanese:Lột(ja)(monuke, nukegara)
• Malayalam:പടം(ml)(paṭaṁ)(for snake)

Verb

moult(third-person singular simple presentmoults,present participlemoulting,simple past and past participlemoulted)

1. (intransitive)Toshedor lose a covering ofhairorfur,feathers,skin,horns,etc, and replace it with a fresh one.

   Synonyms:shed,slough

2. (transitive)To shed in such a manner.

Translations

to shed hair, feathers, skin, horns etc., as an animal

• Azerbaijani:tüləmək
• Bulgarian:сменям си перата(smenjam si perata)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin:Thay lông／Thay lông(zh)(huànmáo),(of birds)Đổi vũ／Đổi vũ(zh)(huànyǔ),Lột da／Lột da(zh)(tuìpí)

• Czech:línat(cs),pelichat,přesrstit sepf,přepeřitpf,svlékat se(cs)impf
• Dutch:ruien(nl)(feathers),muiten(nl)(falcons),vervellen(nl)(skin),verharen(nl)(fur)
• Finnish:luodanahkansa(skin);pudottaahöyhenensä(feathers)
• French:muer(fr)
• Galician:mudar(gl),esplumar(feathers)
• German:mausern(de)(feathers),häuten(de)(skin)
• Hungarian:vedlik(hu)
• Icelandic:(of insects and reptiles)hleypa hömum,(of birds)fella fjaðrir,(of cats and dogs)fara úr hárum
• Italian:mutare(it),fare la muta
• Japanese:Rút け thế わる(ぬけかわる, nukekawaru),Sinh え変わる(はえかわる, haekawaru)
• Maori:turuki,whakamāunu
• Portuguese:mudar(pt)
• Romanian:năpârli(ro)
• Russian:линя́ть(ru)(linjátʹ)
• Slovene:leviti (se)(skin)
• Southern Altai:тӱлеер(tüleer)
• Spanish:pelechar(es),mudar(es)
• Swedish:ömsa(sv),rugga
• Turkish:tüy dökmek(feathers, fur),deri değiştirmek(skin),tülemek(tr)(feathers, dialectal),gömlek değiştirmek(tr)(skin, snakes)

to shed in such a manner (transitive form)

• Czech:svlékatimpf(kůži, krunýř),shazovat(cs)impf(paroží, srst)
• French:muer(fr)
• Swedish:ömsa(sv),rugga

See also

• 
  A cicada moulting
• 
  A cockroach moulting
• 
  A cicada molting
• A snake moulting

Further reading

• moultingon Wikipedia.Wikipedia

French

Etymology

InheritedfromMiddle Frenchmoult,fromOld Frenchmut(with a silent ⟨l⟩ inserted per the Latin etymon), from earlierOld Frenchmult~molt,fromLatinmultus,fromProto-Indo-European*ml̥tos(“crumbled, crumpled”,past passive participle).After having largely disappeared from the spoken language, where it was replaced bybeaucoup,the term is now occasionally heard again, often with a spelling-pronunciation.

Pronunciation

• (traditional)IPA^(key):/mu/,(liaison)/mu.t‿/
• (spelling pronunciation)IPA^(key):/mult/,/mul/

  • Audio:

    (file)

• Audio:

  (file)

• Audio(Canada):

  (file)

• Homophones:mou,mous

Adjective

moult(femininemoulte,masculine pluralmoults,feminine pluralmoultes)

1. (formerlyarchaicorregional)many;a lot of

   Synonym:beaucoup

Adverb

moult

1. (archaicorregional)much;a lot

Usage notes

Used both as invariable and variable adjective:

Aprèsmoulthésitations, il prit cette décision.(invariable)

Aftermuchhesitation he made this decision.

Et, pour finir,moultechose
Blanche et noire, effet et cause[…](variable)

And, to finish,manya thing
White and black, effect and cause[…]

Further reading

• “moult”,inTrésor de la langue française informatisé[Digitized Treasury of the French Language],2012.

Anagrams

• mulot

Middle French

Alternative forms

• mlt(manuscript abbreviation)

Etymology

FromOld Frenchmolt,mout,fromLatinmultus.

Adverb

moult

1. much;a lot

Descendants

• French:moult