† maur Obs.
Forms: 5 mawr, mowr(e, mour(e, 7 maure.
[a. ON. maur-r; for the affinities of this word see mire n.2]
An ant. Also attrib. in maur-hill, maur house, an ant-hill.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 111 How Mawros were men made on a day At þe prayer of a prinse þat peopull hade lost. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxiii. 149 When þe wedir es noȝt hate, ne mowres hydes þaim noȝt in þe erthe [etc.]. 15.. Scott. N.T. Matt. vi. 20 Quhar nouthir roust nor mowris destroyis. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 2408 For salomon biddes a slaw man ga To þe moure. 1483 Cath. Angl. 244 A pyss Mowre (A. A Mowre); formica. A pyss Mowre-hylle (A. A Mowre hylle); formicarium. A Mowre howse; formicalion. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 379 marg., Maure-hils, corruptly called Moule-hils: for Ants were in old English called Maures. |