▪ I. mo, adv., quasi-n.1, and a. Obs. exc. Sc. and north.
(məʊ)
Forms: 1 má, Anglian mǽ (adv.); má (adj.); 2–6 ma, 3–6 maa, moo, (3 moa), 4–6 may, (6 maye, me, mooe, Sc. mea, 7 north. meay), 3–9 mo, 5–9 moe, 6–9 Sc. and north. mae.
[Com. Teut.: OE. má corresponds to OFris. mâ, mê (beside mâr, mêr adv., influenced by the adj. mâra, mêra more), MDu. mee (the MDu., mod.Du. meer, OS. mêr adv., is influenced by the adj.), OHG., MHG. mêr (mod.G. mehr; the MHG. mê, early mod.G. meh, is a shortened form), ON. meir(r (Sw., Da. mer), Goth. mais:—OTeut. *maiz. The OE. variant mǽ has not been accounted for; but cf. OE. mǽst most adv.
According to Brugmann, OTeut. *maiz is unconnected with L. mājor, magis, but is the formal equivalent of Oscan mais, and represents an Indogermanic type *məis, formed with comparative suffix -is (: *-yes: -yō̆s) on the root *mə- (:*mē-: mō-); an ablaut-variant is found in OIrish māo more :—*mōyōs.]
† A. adv. Obs.
1. In or to a greater degree, extent, or quantity. mo and mo: increasingly.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter li. 5 Ðu lufedes hete ofer freamsumnisse, unrehtwisnisse mae ðon spreocan rehtwisnisse. c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxii. §3 Hit þær ne weaxð þe ma ðe ᵹimmas weaxað on winᵹeardum. a 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. xxix. (1890) 370 Ðæt he..to ðæm upplican lustum ma & ma onbærned wære. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 9 Na ma ne mei me her god don for þere saule þe on þis liue god bi-ȝinnen nalde. a 1300 Cursor M. 5532 (Cott.) Þis folk multiplid ai maa [a 1425 Trin. moo & moo]. |
2. Longer, further, again, besides. Chiefly qualified by any, no, none; ever, never = at (any or no) future time. See also evermo, nathemo, nevermo.
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. lii. 405 Wenestu recce he hire æfre ma? 971 Blickl. Hom. 247 Þæt wæter oflan and ma of heora muþe hit ne eode. c 1200 Ormin 4206 Þatt næfre ma ne shall he ben O nane wise filedd. c 1386 Chaucer Wife's Prol. 691 It is an impossible That any clerk wol speke good of wyues,..Ne noon oother womman neuer the mo. ― Wife's T. 8 But now kan no man se none Elues mo. c 1440 Generydes 2722 Nor let no mo suche thoughtez yow assayle. 1584 Peele Arraignm. Paris v. i, Without mislike or quarrell any moe, Pallas shall rest content. 1591 Greene Maiden's Dr. xv, No foreign wit could Hatton's overgo: Yet to a friend wise, simple, and no mo. a 1619 Fletcher, etc. Q. Corinth iii. ii. Song, Grief is but a wound to woe; Gent'lest fair, mourne, mourne no moe. 1812 Byron Ch. Har. i. xciii, Ye..Shall find some tidings in a future page, If he that rhymeth now may scribble moe. |
B. quasi-n. [These uses originated from the adv., but from the point of view of the later language those that survived may be regarded as elliptical uses of the adj.]
† 1. With partitive genitive sing.: Something in addition; an additional quantity or amount. Obs.
| a 1000 Andreas 1443 (Gr.) No þe laðes ma þurh daroða ᵹedrep ᵹedon motan, þa þe heardra mæst hearma ᵹefremedan. a 1250 Owl & Night. 564 (Jesus MS.) Hwat dostu godes among monne? Na mo þene doþ a wrecche wrenne. |
† 2. A greater number; more individuals of the kind specified or implied. Const. than. Obs.
In OE., a verb to which má is the subject is put in the singular. Subsequently, mo in this sense was treated as an adj. with ellipsis of a plural n., and therefore takes a plural vb.
a. In early use, with partitive genitive plural; later, const. of.
| a 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. ii. ii. (1890) 102 Mid þy eower ma is. 971 Blickl. Hom. 61, & weana ma þonne æniᵹes mannes ᵹemet sy þæt hie ariman mæᵹe. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 27 Ma monna ic scolde biȝeten swa. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 576 Of maistres hadde he mo than thries ten. c 1470 Henry Wallace ii. 192 Off ws thai haiff wndoyne may than ynew. 1546 Langley Pol. Verg. De Invent. vii. vi. 144 b, Of these valiant beggers there be in euery place mo then a great meny. 1549 Compl. Scot. iv. 29 Ther is maye of the sect of sardanapalus amang vs, nor ther is of scipions. 1630 tr. Camden's Hist. Eliz. i. 19 The Papists murmured, ‘That moe of the Protestants were chosen of set purpose’. |
† b. Without partitive genitive or its equivalent. Often = more persons. † mo twice: twice as many. Obs.
| a 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. i. xi. [xiv.] (1890) 48 Þæt heora moniᵹe heora feondum on hand eodan; & ᵹyt ma wæs þe þæt don ne wolde. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 141 And muchele mo fareð on þisse sæ, þat is on þisse worelde, fuliende þe leome of penitence..þane don þe leome of maiðhod. c 1205 Lay. 12036 Heo..iseȝen scipen an & an while ma [c 1275 mo] while nan. a 1225 Ancr. R. 42 Her siggeð fifti auez, oþer an hundred, oðer mo oðer les. Ibid. 74 Mo sleað word þene sweord. a 1300 K. Horn 864 Her buþ paens ariued, Wel mo þane fiue. c 1470 Henry Wallace x. 113 And I haiff seyn may twys in to Scotland, With ȝon ilk king. 1563 Winȝet Four Scoir Thre Quest. Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 129 In mony places thryse in ye oulk, and in fer may nocht anis in the moneth. 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. i. x. §2 Unto life many implements are necessary; moe, if we seek..such a life as [etc.]. |
† c. the mo: the majority, the greater part. Obs.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 58, & for he had þe treuth, on his side were þe mo. 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles iv. 86 Some helde with the mo how it euere wente. c 1449 Pecock Repr. v. vii. 522 The mo of the peple. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 173 b, Crisostom answereth. Before the mo he hath spoken euyll of the. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie i. xv. (Arb.) 48 Some men among the moe became mighty and famous in the world. |
† d. Phrases. and mo, or mo: and, or a larger number than that specified. (Frequently used to express an indefinite excess over a number stated approximately.) Similarly, one or mo. Obs.
| a 1000 Elene 634 (Gr.) Is nu worn sceacen .cc. [sc. wintra] oððe ma ᵹeteled rime. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 135 His michelnesse was unhiled on ten fold wise and mo. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 313/490 For þe man þat miȝte go euereche daye fourty mile, and ȝeot sumdel mo. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 613 He.. redily ȝaf him..Ten schilinges and ma. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 970 His scheild he chopit hym fra In tuenty pecis and ma. 1473 Exch. Rolls Scotl. VIII. 153 note, To mak and depute subtennandis undir him in the said landis ane or maa as he thinkis maste expedient. 1599 Act Sed. 3 Nov. (1790) 30 That the secretarie..mak and constitut particular deputts, ane or mae. 1617–18 W. Lawson Orch. & Gard. Pref. (1623) A iij b, A..way of planting, which I haue found good by 48. yeeres (and moe) experience. |
† e. In phrases of which the proverb the mo the merrier is the type. Obs.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xiv. 273 The ma thai be, The mair honour allout haue we. 1529 S. Fish Supplic. Beggers (1871) 13 To make many hospitals for..poore people? Nay truely. The moo the worse. 1571 Digges Pantom. i. vii. C iv b, So haue ye the sides of your scale eche to be deuided in 12. 60. 100. 1000. poynts..the mo the more commodious. a 1575 Gascoigne Posies, Flowers 30 And mo the merrier is a Prouerbe eke. 1684 G. Meriton Yorksh. Dial. 64 Meay the merryer, but fewer better Fair. |
† f. mo and mo: used to express a progressive increase in numbers. Obs.
| c 1205 Lay. 18276 Auer þer comen ma & ma and ferden touward Octa. 1530 Palsgr. 707/1 Sythe we used to scourge beggars out of towne, we have ever sythe had mo and mo. |
3. Other individuals of the kind specified; other persons or things in addition to those mentioned. Const. than, save, but. See also no mo.
In the combinations many mo, a hundred mo, etc., mo admits of being taken as adv.: see A 1. So also in the modern no mo, which must not be confounded with the OE. ná má, where ná = ‘not’, and má might be referred to sense B 2. (The first quot. may belong to A. 2.)
| c 1000 ælfric Gram. xiv. (Z.) 262 Donatus telð ᵹyt ma to ðisum: ni, nisi, sed. c 1000 [see no mo]. c 1200 Ormin 15496 Þuss wrohhte þær þe Laferrd Crist..hiss firsste takenn, & affterr þatt he wrohhte ma. a 1225 Ancr. R. 328 Þis beoð nu nie reisuns, & monie moa þer beoð. c 1275 Passion our Lord 686 in O.E. Misc. 56 Nerun and Dacyen and mo þet beoþ vor-lorene. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 870, & wyth hym maydennez an hundreþe þowsande & fowre & forty þowsande mo. c 1400 Rom. Rose 3023 He was not sole, for ther was mo. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. vii. 61 This fayre grene appel tree..said..I ne bere neuer no mo but this one appel. c 1460 Towneley Myst. iii. 152 Take..of ich kynd beestis two, Mayll & femayll, but no mo. 1540 J. Heywood Four P.P. A j b, Yet haue I been at Rome also And gone the stacions all arowe, Saynt Peters shryne and many mo. 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. ii. vii. §2 The Chronicles of England mention no moe than only six kings bearing the name of Edward. 1597 Ibid. v. lxxviii. §12 The ancientest of the Fathers mention those three degrees of Ecclesiastical order specified and no moe. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. xv. §3 And besides which axioms, there are divers moe. 1641 C. Burges Serm. 5 Nov. 3 In all which places, and many moe, the Originall word is [etc.]. 1725 Ramsay Gentle Sheph. iv. i, But first I'll Roger raise, and twa three mae, To catch her fast. 1785 Burns Death & Dr. Hornbook xxii, Forbye some new, uncommon weapons..Sal-alkali o' Midge-tail clippings, And mony mae. 1844 W. Jamie Muse of Mearns 71 (E.D.D.) Several mae that I did ken. |
b. const. of.
| 1562 Turner Baths 13 Other writers give a geat deale mo of properties unto this bath. 1583 Leg. Bp. St. Androis 614 Of honest men he had na mea. 1724 in Calderwood Dying Testimonies (1806) 232 Would you open moe of their eyes. 1856 G. Henderson Pop. Rhymes etc. Berw. 14 Need I mention ony mae..O' the honest men o' the day. |
† c. Phrases: withouten mo, but ma (Sc.) = only, alone. Obs.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 311/418 Þat euerech of heom [sc. firmamenz], i-wis, One steorre hath with-oute mo þat planete i-cleoped is. a 1300 Cursor M. 13489 Fiue laues and fisches tua, Bot quat don þai, wit-vten maa? 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 9 For he wald in his chambre be..in priuate, With him a clerk, for-owtyn ma. c 1440 Generydes 2682 It is your loue, quod she, withoute moo. 1560 Rolland Crt. Venus Prol. 88 On ane of thame alluterlie, but ma. a 1600 Montgomerie Misc. Poems vii. 46 O worthie wicht both wyse and womanlie! O myn but mo! |
C. adj. = more a.
[In OE. the construction of má with a partitive genitive (see B 1, 2) was sometimes inconvenient, because the n. which was felt to be virtually the subject or object of the verb, or the regimen of the prep., did not show the nature of this relation by its inflexion. Hence the genitive was occas. replaced by the case in which the n. would have stood if má had been absent, or (to express the same thing in another way) the n. was placed in apposition with má. In this way má became practically an indeclinable adj.]
1. (With a n. in sing.) a. As the comparative of much: More or greater in amount or quantity. b. Additional, further.
This use has always been rare, and perhaps the later examples may be due to mere inadvertence.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 231 Ac ma wen is þæt þu onsende þinne engel, se hit mæᵹ hrædlicor ᵹeferan. Ibid. 247 Ara nu..and ma wæter of þinum muþe þu ne send. c 1275 Passion our Lord 317 in O.E. Misc. 46 Hwat abyde ye nuþe to habben mo wytnesse. 14.. Lett. Marg. Anjou & Bp. Beckington (Camden) 69 For their moe surete, ye do the said B. and his servants to be bounden to us. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. III. 347 With small power rydand furth the way, This Striuiling,..With far ma power hes him vmbeset. 1610 Shakes. Temp. v. i. 234 With..noyses Of roring,..gingling chaines, And mo diuersitie of sounds. 1650 Sir H. Slingsby Diary (1836) 342 Never thirstinge ambissciously after more hono{supr} nor covetously of moe estate. 1893 Northumbld. Gloss. s.v. Mae, The mae pairt on them wis gan back agyen. |
2. As the comparative of many: More in number (as distinguished from more, greater in amount or quantity). Const. than, nor; also negatively with but. Frequently qualified by many, also by far, well. Rarely put after the n.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 27 And forgiue us ure gultes þe we hauen don..and ofte..and muchele mo siðe þanne we seȝen muȝen. a 1300 Cursor M. 21883 Bot ai þe ma takens we se, Ai þe warr warnist ar we. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vii. lxvi. (1495) 282 The female serpentes haue moo teeth than males. 1481 Caxton Reynard (Arb.) 7 Ye haue byten and nypte myn vncle..many mo tymes than I can telle. 1530 Rastell Bk. Purgat. i. xiii, There be no mo Goddys but one. a 1641 Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. (1642) 28 Bookes of moe sorts then one. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. viii. ii. §16 According to the rules of proportion, who could expect otherwise, but, the moe men, the moe Martyrs? 1737 Ramsay Sc. Prov. (1750) 5 A fair maiden tocherless will get mae wooers than husbands. 1868 J. Salmon Gowodean iii. ii, Ane maun keep mony mae cracks to their sel',..than abroad they tell. |
† b. Phrases. mo..than one or two, two or three, mo..than enough. Obs.
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 730 He sleped in his yrnes Mo nyȝtez þen in-noghe in naked rokkez. c 1500 Lancelot 1197 The lady said, ‘Per dee, He vsyt haith mo horses than one or two’. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxi. 4 Ȝeiris and dayis mo than two or thre. |
† c. predicatively. Obs.
| a 1300 E.E. Psalter xv. 2 Tille haleghs þat in land are ma, He selkouthed alle mi willes in þa. 1375 Barbour Bruce xi. 636 His fayis ar ma Than he. a 1400 Sir Perc. 926 He was ferde lesse my sonnes sold hym slo, Whenne thay ware eldare and moo. c 1460 Towneley Myst. i. 163 Erthly bestys..bryng ye furth and wax ye mo. c 1460 Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. v. (1885) 119 How be it thai [sc. harms] bith mony mo than we haue shewid yet. 1567 Cal. Laing Charters (1899) 208 Becawse thai war fer may nor he was, he mycht nocht stope thaim. 1611 Bible Ps. lxiv. 4 They that hate mee without a cause are moe then the haires of mine head. 1624 Bp. R. Montagu Gagg 32 Ecclesiasticall constitutions are moe, more certaine; of the same authority with the Churches written Lawes. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. ii. ii. §6 Seeing you are moe in Number. |
3. Additional to the number specified; further, other.
Forming an adjunct to a n. pl., often qualified by an indefinite adj. as many, any, etc., or by a definite numeral adj. as one, two, etc.
| c 1000 ælfric Gram. viii. (Z.) 32 Þus byð eac on ma stowum. c 1320 Sir Tristr. 335 Þe fairest hauke he gan ta Þat tristrem wan þat day; Wiþ him he left ma Pans for to play. 1382 Wyclif Ruth i. 11 Y haue no mo sonys in my wombe. c 1449 Pecock Repr. ii. xi. 215 Thouȝ ther wer x. thousind mo bokis writun in Londoun..of the same Seintis lijf. c 1483 Caxton Dialogues 30/24 Make the ynche to seethe, And put therin mo galles And more substance. 1564 W. Bullein Dial. agst. Pest. 4 b, [A beggar from Redesdale (Northumberland) says:] Besides vs pakers, many me men haue gud lucke. c 1600 Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 847 Thair be mae sences than the sicht. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 5 You shall sustaine moe new disgraces, With these you beare alreadie. a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Poems Wks. (1711) 2 Day shall but serve moe sorrows to display. 1721 Ramsay Prospect of Plenty 206 For rowth shall cherish love, and love shall bring Mae men t'improve the soil. 1813 E. Picken Misc. Poems I. 151 Gie's nae mae sic wither-shins. |
† b. put after a n. pl.; also with a n. sing. preceded by many a, and negatively. † times mo, at other times. Obs.
| c 1200 Ormin 8157, & ȝet he haffde suness ma Acc himm he ȝaff þatt crune. a 1300 Cursor M. 3210 Sex scor and seuen yeir liued sarra And deid wit-outen childer ma. a 1300 Fall & Passion 11 in E.E.P. (1862) 13 And in to helle sone he liȝte an wiþ him mani an mo. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 26 After nyen & twenty ȝere þe dede him hiþen nam, & sex monethes mo. c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 393 Ther fil, as it bifalleth tymes mo [etc.]. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. xlii, I..sawe hir walk..With no wight mo, bot onely wommen tueyne. c 1440 Generydes 1964 After hym ther came ij kynggez moo. 15.. Adam Bel 538 in Ritson Anc. Pop. P. 25 Syr, they be slayne,.. And many an officer mo. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. June 57, I sawe Calliope wyth Muses moe..Theyr yvory Luyts..forgoe. a 1584 Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 20, I saw the cunning and the cat,..With mony beistis mo. |
† c. with a n. pl. qualified by other or with other used absolutely. Obs.
| c 1290 Beket 571 in S. Eng. Leg., Seint Thomas grauntede bluþeliche þeos [sc. laws] and oþure mo. Ibid. 2079 Ofte ich habbe þe guod i-do and manie othure mo. a 1300 Cursor M. 14449 Lazar þat ded was..he raisid, and oþer maa. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 181 Tuo Cardinals he hath assissed With othre lordes many mo. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 79 And þis inconuenient mai not be voydid w{supt} mani moo oþer. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. viii. 45 Kyng Lot and mo other called hym a wytche. 1513 Douglas æneis iii. iv. 6 The cruell Celeno, With all the vtheris Harpyis mony mo. 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. i. (Arb.) 27 And infinite other mo lettes. 1622 Wither Chr. Carol 87 Some others play at Rowlandhoe And twenty other Gameboys moe. 1652 C. B. Stapylton Herodian xvii. 144 These Countries got he left unto his heires, With other moe. |
¶ 4. mo and less: misused for more and less in reference to condition or rank. Obs. rare—1.
| 1426 Audelay Poems 80 Fore thi-self furst thou pray..And fore men and women mo and lees. |
▪ II. mo, n.2
(məʊ)
Also mo'.
Colloq. or slang abbrev. moment n. Chiefly in ellipt. phr. half a mo: wait for half a moment, i.e., for a short time.
| 1896 in J. R. Ware Passing Eng. (1909) 9/2 In half a mo'—half a mo' Your pluck and perseverance you can show. 1903 [see 'arf]. 1905 H. G. Wells Kipps ii. v. 234 Chitterlow hesitated. ‘Half a mo', my boy,’ he said. 1929 N. C. James Sleeveless Errand 176 Well, wait a mo, while I get my tata on. 1934 [see 'arf]. 1938 Auden & Isherwood On Frontier iii. i. 98 Wait a mo. Gimme a torch. 1972 J. Wilson Hide & Seek vi. 110 Hang on... Hang on a mo. Look, you can't pin nothing on me. |
▪ III. mo, n.3
Austral. and N.Z. slang abbrev. moustache, mustache n.
| 1936 M. Franklin All that Swagger xli. 383 Darcy was a man. He had a ‘mo’. 1946 D. Stivens Courtship Uncle Henry 18 ‘I'll warm your pants for you..’ he'd warn me, the ends of his long black mo shaking. 1947 ‘A. P. Gaskell’ Big Game 17 Never mind Henry,..we'll soon shave Hitler's mo off. |