Adjacent Words

Moon definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MOON, n.
1. The heavenly orb which revolves round the earth; a secondary planet or satellite of the earth, whose borrowed light is reflected to the earth and serves to dispel the darkness of night. Its mean distance from the earth is 60 1/2 semidiameters of the earth, or 240,000 miles. Its revolution round the earth in 27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes, constitutes the lunar month.
2. A month. This is the sense in which rude nations use the name of the moon; as seven moons.
Half-moon, in fortification, a figure resembling a crescent.
MOON'-BEAM, n. A ray of light from the moon.
MOON'-CALF, n. A monster; a false conception.
1. A mole or mass of fleshy matter generated in the uterus.
2. A dolt; a stupid fellow.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: the natural satellite of the Earth; "the average distance to the Moon is 384,400 kilometers"; "men first stepped on the moon in 1969" [syn: Moon, moon]
2: any object resembling a moon; "he made a moon lamp that he used as a night light"; "the clock had a moon that showed various phases"
3: the period between successive new moons (29.531 days) [syn: lunar month, moon, lunation, synodic month]
4: the light of the Moon; "moonlight is the smuggler's enemy"; "the Moon was bright enough to read by" [syn: moonlight, moonshine, Moon]
5: United States religious leader (born in Korea) who founded the Unification Church in 1954; was found guilty of conspiracy to evade taxes (born in 1920) [syn: Moon, Sun Myung Moon]
6: any natural satellite of a planet; "Jupiter has sixteen moons" v
1: have dreamlike musings or fantasies while awake; "She looked out the window, daydreaming" [syn: daydream, moon]
2: be idle in a listless or dreamy way [syn: moon, moon around, moon on]
3: expose one's buttocks to; "moon the audience"

Merriam Webster's

I. noun Etymology: Middle English mone, from Old English m?na; akin to Old High German m?no moon, Latin mensis month, Greek m?n month, m?n? moon Date: before 12th century 1. a. often capitalized the earth's natural satellite that shines by the sun's reflected light, revolves about the earth from west to east in about 29 1/2 days with reference to the sun or about 27 1/3 days with reference to the stars, and has a diameter of 2160 miles (3475 kilometers), a mean distance from the earth of about 238,900 miles (384,400 kilometers), and a mass about one eightieth that of the earth — usually used with the b. one complete moon cycle consisting of four phases c. satellite 2; specifically a natural satellite of a planet 2. an indefinite usually extended period of time <a labor of many moons> 3. moonlight 4. something that resembles a moon: as a. a highly translucent spot on old porcelain b. lunule c. slang naked buttocks 5. something impossible or inaccessible <reach for the moon> • moonlike adjective II. verb Date: 1836 transitive verb 1. to spend in idle reverie ; dream — used with away 2. slang to expose one's naked buttocks to intransitive verb to spend time in idle reverie ; behave abstractedly

Britannica Concise

Sole natural satellite of earth, which it orbits from west to east at a mean distance of about 239,900 mi (384,400 km). It is less than one-third the size of earth (diameter about 2,160 mi, or 3,476 km, at its equator), about one-eightieth as massive, and about two-thirds as dense. Its surface gravity is about one-sixth that of earth, and its gravitational pull is largely responsible for earth's tides. The moon shines by reflected sunlight, but its albedo is only 7.3%. It rotates relative to the sun in about 29.5 days, in exactly the time it takes to orbit earth, and therefore always presents the same face to earth. However, that face is lit by the sun at different angles as the moon revolves, causing it to display different phases over the month, from new to full. Most astronomers now believe the moon formed from a cloud of fragments ejected into earth orbit when a Mars-sized body struck the proto-earth early in the solar system's history. Its surface has been studied by telescope since Galileo first observed it in 1609, and lunar rocks were brought back to earth in the Apollo program. The dominant process affecting it has been impacts, both from micrometeorite bombardment, which grinds rock fragments into fine dust, and from meteorite strikes, which produced the craters profusely scattered over its surface mostly early in its history, over 4 billion years ago. The maria (see mare) are huge, ancient lava flows. In 1998, possible signs of water ice near the moon's poles were found. More generally, a moon is any natural satellite orbiting a planet.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. 1 a the natural satellite of the earth, orbiting it monthly, illuminated by the sun and reflecting some light to the earth. b this regarded in terms of its waxing and waning in a particular month (new moon). c the moon when visible (there is no moon tonight). 2 a satellite of any planet. 3 (prec. by the) something desirable but unattainable (promised them the moon). 4 poet. a month. --v. 1 intr. (often foll. by about, around, etc.) move or look listlessly. 2 tr. (foll. by away) spend (time) in a listless manner. 3 intr. (foll. by over) act aimlessly or inattentively from infatuation for (a person). Phrases and idioms: moon boot a thickly-padded boot designed for low temperatures. moon-faced having a round face. over the moon extremely happy or delighted. Derivatives: moonless adj. Etymology: OE mona f. Gmc, rel. to MONTH

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Moon Moon, n. [OE. mone, AS. m[=o]na; akin to D. maan, OS. & OHG. m[=a]no, G. mond, Icel. m[=a]ni, Dan. maane, Sw. m[*a]ne, Goth. m[=e]na, Lith. men?, L. mensis month, Gr. ? moon, ? month, Skr. m[=a]s moon, month; prob. from a root meaning to measure (cf. Skr. m[=a] to measure), from its serving to measure the time. [root]271. Cf. Mete to measure, Menses, Monday, Month.] 1. The celestial orb which revolves round the earth; the satellite of the earth; a secondary planet, whose light, borrowed from the sun, is reflected to the earth, and serves to dispel the darkness of night. The diameter of the moon is 2,160 miles, its mean distance from the earth is 240,000 miles, and its mass is one eightieth that of the earth. See Lunar month, under Month. The crescent moon, the diadem of night. --Cowper. 2. A secondary planet, or satellite, revolving about any member of the solar system; as, the moons of Jupiter or Saturn. 3. The time occupied by the moon in making one revolution in her orbit; a month. --Shak. 4. (Fort.) A crescentlike outwork. See Half-moon. Moon blindness. (a) (Far.) A kind of ophthalmia liable to recur at intervals of three or four weeks. (b) (Med.) Hemeralopia. Moon dial, a dial used to indicate time by moonlight. Moon face, a round face like a full moon. Moon madness, lunacy. [Poetic] Moon month, a lunar month. Moon trefoil (Bot.), a shrubby species of medic (Medicago arborea). See Medic. Moon year, a lunar year, consisting of lunar months, being sometimes twelve and sometimes thirteen.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Moon Moon, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Mooned; p. pr. & vb. n. Mooning.] To expose to the rays of the moon. If they have it to be exceeding white indeed, they seethe it yet once more, after it hath been thus sunned and mooned. --Holland.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Moon Moon, v. i. To act if moonstruck; to wander or gaze about in an abstracted manner. Elsley was mooning down the river by himself. --C. Kingsley.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(moons) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. The moon is the object that you can often see in the sky at night. It goes round the Earth once every four weeks, and as it does so its appearance changes from a circle to part of a circle. ...the first man on the moon... ...the light of a full moon. N-SING: usu the N, also full/new N see also new moon 2. A moon is an object similar to a small planet that travels around a planet. ...Neptune's large moon. N-COUNT: usu poss N 3. If you say that something happens once in a blue moon, you are emphasizing that it does not happen very often at all. Once in a blue moon you get some problems. PHRASE: PHR with cl [emphasis] 4. If you say that you are over the moon, you mean that you are very pleased about something. (BRIT INFORMAL) = overjoyed PHRASE: v-link PHR

Easton's Bible Dictionary

heb. yareah, from its paleness (Ezra 6:15), and lebanah, the "white" (Cant. 6:10; Isa. 24:23), was appointed by the Creator to be with the sun "for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years" (Gen. 1:14-16). A lunation was among the Jews the period of a month, and several of their festivals were held on the day of the new moon. It is frequently referred to along with the sun (Josh. 10:12; Ps. 72:5, 7, 17; 89:36, 37; Eccl. 12:2; Isa. 24:23, etc.), and also by itself (Ps. 8:3; 121:6).

The great brilliance of the moon in Eastern countries led to its being early an object of idolatrous worship (Deut. 4:19; 17:3; Job 31:26), a form of idolatry against which the Jews were warned (Deut. 4:19; 17:3). They, however, fell into this idolatry, and offered incense (2 Kings 23:5; Jer. 8:2), and also cakes of honey, to the moon (Jer. 7:18; 44:17-19, 25).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

moon (yareach; meaning obscure--probably "wanderer"; by some given as "paleness"; selene): The moon was very early worshipped by the nations of the Far East as a divinity or the representative of one or more deities. These deities were both masculine and feminine. In Assyria and Babylonia the most common name for the moon-god was Sin or Sen. In Babylonia he was also called Aku and Nannara. In Egypt the moon was representative of several deities, all masculine. The chief of these was Thoth the god of knowledge, so called because the moon was the measurer of time. Babylonia has, also, Aa, the goddess of the moon, as the consort of the sun, while her equivalent was known in Phoenicia as Ashtaroth-karnaim. This personification and worship of the moon among the nations who were neighbors to Palestine was but part of an elaborate Nature-worship found among these people. Nor was this worship always separated from Palestine by geographical lines. It crept into the thought and customs of the Hebrews and in a sense affected their religious conceptions and ceremonies. They fell into the habit of making direct homage to sun, moon and stars, as is evidenced by Job 31:26,27; Jer 44:17, and even Isa 8:18 (see CRESCENTS). Moses seems to have forewarned his people against the danger of this form of worship (De 4:19).

The actual worship of the moon and the idolatry consequent thereon seems to have touched the Hebrews, though this is disputed by some. It would seem difficult to explain 2Ki 21:3 upon any other supposition, and in 2Ki 23:4,5 we have a clear statement that Josiah put down the worship of the moon among the people and silenced the priests of this form of worship.

Certain forms of the adoration of the moon, or superstitious fear of baneful influences as coming from the moon, still abound in some sections of the world. In fact in nearly all sections modified forms of old superstitions still hold sway and yield but slowly to scientific knowledge.

The eclipses of the moon were naturally given a religious significance inasmuch as the Hebrew knowledge of them did not rise much above awe and wonder (Isa 13:10; Joe 2:31; Mt 24:29; Mr 13:24). Other passages causing interference with the constancy of the moon to foreshadow great events can be found in Jer 13:16; Eze 32:7,8; Re 8:12. An interesting passage and most difficult of interpretation is Re 12:1. It is frequently interpreted as a revelation in symbolism of the glory of the church clothed with the light and radiating the truth of God.

See also ASTRONOMY; ASTROLOGY.

C. E. Schenk

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. 1. Satellite, secondary planet. 2. Month, lunation.

Foolish Dictionary

The only lighting monopoly that never made money.

Moby Thesaurus

April showers, Artemis, Ashtoreth, Astarte, Cynthia, Diana, Hecate, Hekate, Luna, Phoebe, Proteus, Selene, abundant year, academic year, annum, artificial satellite, be absent, bissextile year, bum around, calendar month, calendar year, candle, century, chameleon, cloud shapes, common year, crescent, crescent moon, day, daydream, decade, decennary, decennium, decrescent, decrescent moon, defective year, demilune, divagate, do nothing, dream, electric light bulb, fantasy, fire, fiscal year, flame, fortnight, full moon, gibbous moon, glim, go woolgathering, goof off, half-moon, hang around, harvest moon, hour, idle, illuminant, illuminator, incandescent body, increscent, increscent moon, kaleidoscope, lamp, lantern, laze, lazy, leap year, lie around, light, light bulb, light source, loaf, loiter about, loll around, lollop around, lounge, lounge around, luminant, luminary, lunar month, lunar year, lunation, luster, lustrum, man-hour, match, mercury, microsecond, millennium, millisecond, minute, moment, month, mooch around, moon around, muse, new moon, orb of night, pipe-dream, quarter, queen of heaven, queen of night, quicksilver, quinquennium, regular year, rolling stone, satellite, second, semester, session, shifting sands, sidereal year, silvery moon, sit around, slouch, slouch around, solar year, source of light, stand around, stargaze, stars, stray, sun, taper, term, the wandering Moon, the weather, torch, trimester, twelvemonth, wander, waning crescent moon, waning moon, water, waxing crescent moon, waxing moon, weather vane, weathercock, week, weekday, wet moon, wheel of fortune, whirligig, year