Mahound

English

Alternative forms

• Mahoun
• Mahoune [15th-16th c.]

Etymology

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Anglo-Norman Mahun, (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old French Mahum, Mahom, shortened from Mahomed (“Muhammad”) (see Muhammad for more). Compare mammet.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /məˈhuːnd/, /məˈhaʊnd/

Noun

Mahound (plural Mahounds)

1. (archaic, now rare) Muhammad, believed by medieval Europeans to be a demon or god that Muslims worshipped. [from 13th c.]
   • 1596, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, IV.8:

     But, when he to himselfe returnd againe, / All full of rage he gan to curse and sweare, / And vow by Mahoune that he should be slaine.

   • 1820, Walter Scott, Ivanhoe:

     “Now, in faith,” said Wamba, “I cannot see that the worshippers of Mahound and Termagaunt have so greatly the advantage over the people once chosen of Heaven.”

2. (obsolete) A generic pagan god or idol believed by medieval Europeans to be worshipped by various villains such as Herod I. [13th-16th c.]
3. (now rare, chiefly in Scotland and Ireland) The Devil. [from 14th c.]
   • 1922, James Joyce, Ulysses:

     And there were vessels that are wrought by magic of Mahound out of seasand and the air by a warlock with his breath that he blares into them like to bubbles.