moult

See also: Moult

English

Alternative forms

• molt (US)

Etymology

From Middle English mouten, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Old English *mutian (cf. bemutian), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin mūtō, mūtāre. Doublet of mute.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moʊlt/
• IPA^(key): /mɒlt/
• IPA^(key): /məʊlt/
• Rhymes: -əʊlt

Noun

moult (plural moults)

1. The process of shedding or losing a covering of fur, feathers or skin etc.

   Some birds change colour during their winter moult.

2. The skin or feathers cast off during the process of moulting.

   Synonym: exuvia

Translations

process

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 換毛／换毛 (zh) (huànmáo), 换毛 (zh) (huànmáo), (of birds) 換羽／换羽 (zh) (huànyǔ), 换羽 (zh) (huànyǔ)

• Dutch: rui (nl) m
• Finnish: karvanlähtö (fi) (of fur); sulkasato (fi) (of feathers); nahanluonti (of skin)
• French: mue (fr) f
• German: Mauser (de) f (feathers), Häutung f (skin)
• Hungarian: vedlés
• Indonesian: pergantian kulit (id)
• Italian: muta (it), muda
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 抜け替わり (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, (of feathers) ruggning

skin or feathers cast off

• Finnish: luotu nahka (skin)
• French: mue (fr) f
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Icelandic: (of insects and reptiles) hamskipti n pl, (of birds) fjaðrafellir m
• Japanese: 蛻 (ja) (monuke, nukegara)

Verb

moult (third-person singular simple present moults, present participle moulting, simple past and past participle moulted)

1. (intransitive) To shed or lose a covering of hair or fur, 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

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 換毛／换毛 (zh) (huànmáo), 换毛 (zh) (huànmáo), (of birds) 換羽／换羽 (zh) (huànyǔ), 换羽 (zh) (huànyǔ), 蛻皮／蜕皮 (zh) (tuìpí), 蜕皮 (zh) (tuìpí)

• Dutch: ruien (nl) (feathers), muiten (nl) (falcons), vervellen (nl) (skin), verharen (nl) (fur)
• Finnish: luoda nahkansa (skin); pudottaa höyhenensä (feathers)
• French: muer (fr)
• 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
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Japanese: 抜け替わる (ぬけかわる, nukekawaru), 生え変わる (はえかわる, haekawaru)
• Maori: turuki, whakamāunu
• Portuguese: mudar (pt)
• Romanian: năpârli (ro)
• Russian: линя́ть (ru) (linjátʹ)
• Slovene: leviti (se) (skin)
• Spanish: pelechar (es)
• Swedish: ömsa (sv), rugga

to shed in such a manner (transitive form)

• French: muer (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Swedish: ömsa (sv), rugga

See also

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

Further reading

• moulting on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

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French

Etymology

From Middle French moult, from Old French molt, mout, mult, from Latin multus, from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥tos (“crumbled, crumpled”, past passive participle). After having largely disappeared from standard spoken language, where it was replaced by beaucoup, the adjective form (pronounced /mult/) is now occasionally heard again.

Pronunciation

• (traditional) IPA^(key): /mu/
• (spelling pronunciation) IPA^(key): /mult/, /mul/

  • Audio:

    (file)

• Homophones: mou, mous

Adjective

moult (feminine moulte, masculine plural moults, feminine plural moultes)

1. (formerly archaic or regional) many; a lot of

   Synonym: beaucoup

Adverb

moult

1. (archaic or regional) much; a lot

Usage notes

Used both as invariable and variable adjective:

Après moult hésitations, il prit cette décision. (invariable)

After many hesitations he took the decision.

Et, pour finir, moulte chose / Blanche et noire, effet et cause […] (variable)

And, to finish, many a thing / White and black, effect and cause […]

Further reading

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

Anagrams

• mulot

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Middle French

Alternative forms

• mlt (manuscript abbreviation)

Etymology

From Old French molt, mout, from Latin multus.

Adverb

moult

1. much; a lot

Descendants

• French: moult