mound

English

Etymology

From earlier meaning "hedge, fence", from Middle English mound, mund (“protection, boundary, raised earthen rampart”), from Old English mund (“hand, hand of protection, protector, guardianship”), from Proto-Germanic *mundō (“hand”), *munduz (“protection, patron”), from Proto-Indo-European *men-, *man-, *mar- (“hand”). Cognate with Old Frisian mund (“guardianship”), Old High German munt (“hand, protection”) (German Mündel (“ward”), Vormund (“a guardian”)), Old Norse mund (Icelandic mund, “hand”)), Middle Dutch mond (“protection”), Latin manus (“hand”), Ancient Greek μάρη (márē, “hand”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -aʊnd

Noun

Mounds of salt

mound (plural mounds)

1. (obsolete, anatomy, measurement, figuratively) A hand.
2. (obsolete) A protection; restraint; curb.
3. (obsolete) A helmet.
4. (obsolete) Might; size.
5. An artificial hill or elevation of earth; a raised bank; an embankment thrown up for defense; a bulwark; a rampart.
6. A natural elevation appearing as if thrown up artificially; a regular and isolated hill, hillock, or knoll.
7. (baseball) The place where the pitcher stands to pitch.
8. A ball or globe forming part of the regalia of an emperor or other sovereign. It is encircled with bands, enriched with precious stones, and surmounted with a cross.
9. (US, vulgar, slang) Vulva.

Synonyms

• (part of regalia): globus cruciger, globe, orb

Derived terms

• shaftmound

Translations

artificial elevation of earth

Catalan: mota (ca) f., túmul (ca) m. Finnish: keko (fi), kasa (fi), valli (fi), penkka (fi) Latin: tumulus (la) m.

Navajo: dah yiskʼid Spanish: túmulo (es) m., montículo (es) m.

natural elevation

Finnish: kukkula (fi), kumpu (fi), kumpare (fi) Romanian: movilă (ro) f.

Spanish: montículo (es) m.

baseball term

Finnish: syöttökumpu (fi)

Spanish: montículo (es) m., base (es) m.

part of regalia

Finnish: valtakunnanomena (fi)

Spanish: orbe (es) m.

vulva — see vulva

Verb

mound (third-person singular simple present mounds, present participle mounding, simple past and past participle mounded)

1. (transitive) To fortify with a mound; add a barrier, rampart, etc. to.
2. (transitive) To force or pile into a mound or mounds.

   He mounded up his mashed potatoes so they left more space on the plate for the meat.

Translations

to pile into mounds

Finnish: kasata (fi)

Spanish: apilar (es), amontonar (es)

See also

• Mound on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Mound in the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica.