moulder

moulder · verb¹

1. Proto-Indo-European · inherited from*melh₂-“to crush, grind”
2. Proto-Germanic · inherited from*muldō“dirt, soil; furry growth of fungi, mould”
3. Old English · inherited frommolde“earth, soil”
4. Middle English · inherited frommold
5. English todaymoulder

From mould (“loose friable soil; rotting earth regarded as the substance of the human body”) + -er (suffix forming frequentative verbs), probably influenced by mould (“furry growth of fungi”). Mould is derived from Middle English mold, molde (“loose friable soil, dirt, earth; earth as the substance out of which God made man, and to which the human body decays into after death”), from Old English molde (“earth, soil”), from Proto-Germanic *muldō (“dirt, soil; furry growth of fungi, mould”), from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“to crush, grind”).

moulder · noun²

1. Proto-Indo-European · derived from*med-“to measure”
2. Latin · derived frommodulus“small interval or measure; etc.”
3. Old French · derived frommolde
4. Middle English · inherited frommolder
5. English todaymoulder

Partly from the following: * From Middle English molder, moldere (“maker of bread, baker”), from molden (“to knead or shape (bread); to make bread, bake; to mix (something) by kneading; to shape, mould; to pulverize (?)”) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns, especially names of people engaged in professions or trades). Molden is derived from mold, molde (“model or pattern according to which a thing is made, mould”) + -en (suffix forming the infinitives of verbs); and mold, molde are borrowed from Old French molde, a variant of modle, molle (modern French moule), from Latin modulus (“small interval or measure; etc.”), diminutive of modus (“measure; manner, method”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to measure”). * From mould (“to shape in or on a mould; to form into a particular shape”, verb) + -er (suffix forming agent nouns).

moulder · noun³

Probably a variant of mould (“loose, friable soil”), influenced by moulder (“to decay or rot, or to crumble to pieces, etc.”) (etymology 1).

moulder · noun⁴

Probably a variant of mould (“furry or woolly growth of tiny fungi”), influenced by moulder (“to decay or rot, or to crumble to pieces, etc.”) (etymology 1).

Words from the same roots