▪ I. moor, n.1
(mʊə(r), mɔə(r))
Forms: 1 mór, 3–5 mor, 3–8 more, 4–5 mur, Sc. mwr(e, 4–6 mure, 5–7 moore, 8–9 Sc. muir, 7– moor.
[OE. mór masc. = MDu., Du. moer neut., MLG. môr, moor (whence mod.G. moor neut., Da. mor), OHG. muor neut.:—OTeut. *môro-, whence *môrjâ fem., represented in OHG. muorra str. fem., ON. mœ́r-r fem., moorland.
ON. had mó-r in the same sense; but this must be wholly unconnected, unless the -ro of OTeut. *môro- be a suffix, the pre-Teut. root being *mō- (: mə-, as possibly in *mə-ri mere n.1). Most scholars, however, regard the r as belonging to the root, which they consider to be an ablaut variant of *mer-, mr̥- to die, so that the primitive sense of the n. would be ‘dead’ or barren land.]
1. a. A tract of unenclosed waste ground; now usually, uncultivated ground covered with heather; a heath. Also, a tract of ground strictly preserved for shooting.
| Beowulf 103 Se þe moras heold, fen and fæsten. Ibid. 1405 Ofer myrcan mor. c 1205 Lay. 4817 Meduwen and mores & þa hæᵹe muntes. a 1340 Hampole Psalter lxxvii. 18 He brake þe stane in þe more [Vulg. in eremo]. 1375 Barbour Bruce vii. 108 Syne in a mwre thai enterit ar, That wes bath hee & lang & braid. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 95 The Ro, which renneth on the Mor, Is thanne noght so lyht as I. 14.. Customs of Malton in Surtees Misc. (1888) 58 It was grauntyd..pastur' to all þe bestes in þe feyldes and in þe more. c 1470 Henry Wallace iii. 60 Wyth thar serwandis fra Ricardtoun thai raid To Mawchtlyne mur. 1596 Dalyrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scotl. I. 17 Heir I say is ane gold mynde in Craufurde mure. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. iv. 67 Could you on this faire Mountaine leaue to feed, And batten on this Moore? 1776 Adam Smith W.N. i. xi. (1869) I. 155 The most desert moors in Norway and Scotland produce some sort of pasture. 1785 Burns Holy Fair i, The risin' sun owre Galston muirs, Wi' glorious light was glintin. 1846 M{supc}Culloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) I. 16 The Yorkshire moors are by far the most extensive and important of any in the kingdom. 1860 Emerson Cond. Life, Culture Wks. (Bohn) II. 371 In the country he can find..moors for game, hills for geology, and groves for devotion. 1886 Times (weekly ed.) 6 Aug. 13/3 The moors thrown on the market for the year hung heavily on hand at first. |
b. spec. (Usu. with capital initial.) Dartmoor Prison (
cf. Dartmoor b).
| 1869 F. Henderson Six Yrs. in Prisons Eng. xix. 228 ‘How long were you at the Moor, Dick?’ ‘Three years.’ 1924 E. Wallace Room 13 vii. 69, I was on the ‘moor’ with him. 1939 [see island n. 1 d]. 1958 F. Norman Bang to Rights i. 22 I'm doing a bleeding neves. I'll be going down the Moor soon that will be the third poxy time. 1962 D. Warner Death of Bogey iv. iii. 146 A stretch in the Ville or on the Moor. 1967 C. Drummond Death at Furlong Post xvi. 192 There's nothing like the Moor, T.B. more or less guaranteed after fifteen years. 1968 Guardian 3 Jan. 5/3 One more stretch for GBH, then down to the Moor. |
2. † A marsh (
obs.); also
dial. (see
quot. 1883).
| 1441 Tintinhull Churchw. Acc. (Som. Rec. Soc.) 180 Et de segitibus venditis in le more hoc anno [etc.]..xs. c 1475 Pict. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 797/9 Hec Palis, a more. 1591 Spenser Virg. Gnat 230 Therto the frogs, bred in the slimie scowring Of the moist moores, their jarring voices bent. 1701 A. de la Pryme in Phil. Trans. XXII. 982 Acorns have frequently been found at the bottom of the Soil of those Levels and Mores. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Moor..is now commonly taken for a Marsh, or Fen. 1787 Winter Syst. Husb. 25 Moors and Bogs generally consist of rotten trees, roots of weeds, and other half dissolved vegetable substances. 1883 Grant Allen Colin Clout's Calendar xxxviii. 228 In Yorkshire a moor means a high stretch of undulating heath-covered rock; whereas in Somerset it means a low flat level of former marshland, reclaimed and drained by means of numerous ‘rhines’. |
3. dial. The soil of which moorland consists; peat.
| 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 9 Ruch, scharpe and hard hillis full of mosse, more and marrase. 1610 W. Folkingham Art of Survey 3 The vulgar [species of the earth] is either simple as Clay, Moulde, Moor, Gravell, Sande. 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 25 A thin stratum of moss, where the subsoil is gravel or sand, is called Moor. 1877 Skertchly Geol. Fenland 138 The word peat is quite unknown among the agricultural population of the fens. The substance is called turf, and where thin, or so weathered as to be unfit for fuel, the term moor is applied. |
4. Cornwall.
a. A moor or waste land where tin is found; hence
moor-house,
moor-tin,
moor-works (see
quots. 1602, 1778).
b. (See
quots. 1778, 1860.)
| 1602 Carew Cornwall 8 Under this title [Streamworke], they comprise also the Moore workes. Ibid. 15 b, A foote of good Moore-tyn (which is counted the best sort) will way about fourescore pound. Ibid. 18 The Tynners of the whole shire are deuided into foure quarters, two called Moores, of the places where the Tynne is wrought, viz. Foy moore, and Black moore: the other Tiwarnaill and Penwith. 1778 Pryce Min. Cornub. 316 But if the place or Mine lies low, it is usual to say, ‘He is gone to Moor;’ if in the valley, they say, ‘He is gone to Coomb.’ Ibid. 324 Moor... This word signifies a root or a quantity of Ore in a particular part of the Lode; as ‘A Moor of Ore’. ‘A Moor of Tin’. Ibid., Moorhouse, a hovel built with turf for workmen to change cloaths in. A Coe, Derby. 1860 Eng. & For. Min. Gloss. (Cornw. Terms), More, a quantity of ore in a particular part of a lode, as a ‘more’ of tin. |
5. attrib. and
Comb., as
moor-dike,
moor-keeper,
moor-owner,
moor-side,
moor-wind;
moor-bred,
moor-haunting adjs.| 1603 Drayton Barons Wars vi. lxiv. 147 The *more-bred Mallard. |
| 1579 Mem. St. Giles, Durham (Surtees) 1 Payde to Rycharde gylson for sixe dayes..at the *more dycke for layinge up earthe to y⊇ whicke. |
| 1871 W. Morris in Mackail Life (1899) I. 234 With a wild musical note, like all the *moor-haunting birds. |
| 1891 Pall Mall G. 1 July 5/1 The *moor-keepers state that searches for grouse-nests during April proved most successful. |
| 1915 R. Lankester Diversions of Naturalist v. 47 One *moor-owner was able to boast that he had on several occasions killed over 500 head of grouse in a single day. 1971 Country Life 12 Aug. 396/1 For the moor-owner grouse soon became more profitable than sheep. |
| c 1470 Henry Wallace v. 131 At the *mur syde. |
| 1813 Vancouver Agric. Devon 282 Those cold and blighting vapours carried by the *moor⁓winds through all the country below. 1902 R. W. Chambers Maids of Paradise xvii, To my numbed ears the moor⁓winds bore a sound coming from a great distance. |
6. Special comb.:
moor-band, a hard substratum of the soil found in moorland, consisting of clay, iron ore, and small stones, and impervious to moisture; called also
moor-band pan;
moor-bath [after G.
moorbad], a therapeutic procedure in which the patient is buried up to the neck in peat taken from a bog;
moor-coal,
† (
a) ? peat used for burning (
obs.); (
b) a friable variety of lignite [after G.
moorkohle (Werner)];
† moor-earth, peaty soil;
moor-evil, a kind of dysentery in sheep and cattle;
† moor-fen, a marsh;
† moor grieve, an overseer of a moor;
moor-hag, broken ground from which peats have been dug;
= peat hag (see
peat1 4 d);
moor-head, the highest part of a moor;
moor-house (see 4);
moor-ill = moor evil;
moor-master,
† (
a) an officer of the corporation of York; (
b) in Cumberland ‘the superintendent (not captain) of a mine’ (Linton
Lake Country, 1864, p. 308);
moor-pan = moor-band;
moor peat, peat derived chiefly from varieties of sphagnum or moss (
Cent. Dict.);
moor planter (see
quots.);
moor-sick a., affected with moor-sickness;
moor-sickness, a disease of sheep
= moor-evil;
moor-tin,
-works (see 4).
| 1800 Tuke Agric. N. Riding 10 There is some cold thin clay upon what is here called a *moorband. 1844 Stephens Bk. Farm I. 670 Moor-band pan belongs to a class of bodies known to chemists under the name of ochrey deposites. 1882 Geikie Text-bk. Geol. iii. ii. ii. §2. 354 A dark ferruginous layer known to Scottish farmers as ‘moorband-pan’. |
| 1878 tr. von Ziemssen's Cycl. Med. XIII. 170 *Moor-Baths and Mud Baths, so-called form a separate class. |
| 1562 Act 5 Eliz. c. 4 §6 Woorking..of any..Stone Sea Cole, Stone Cole, *Moore Cole or Cherk Cole. 1816 Jameson Syst. Min. (ed. 2) II. 378 Moor-Coal or Trapezoidal Coal. |
| 1607 Norden Surv. Dial. iv. 229 Many fetch *Moore-earth or Murgion from the river betweene Colebrooke and Uxbridge, and carry it to their barren grounds. |
| 1749 W. Ellis Compl. Syst. Sheep, etc. iii. v. 321 What they call Wood-Evil in some other Parts, they call it here the *Moor-Evil, because they conceive it is bred in a Sheep or Lamb, by its lying on moory, cold Ground. 1787 A. Croke Short View Otmoor 8 The larger cattle are frequently visited by an epidemical distemper called the Moor-evil. 1847 W. C. L. Martin Ox 151 Wood-evil, moor-evil, or pantas. |
| c 1205 Lay. 20164 Swa doð þe wilde cron i þan *moruenne [c 1275 mor-fenne]. |
| 1590 Reg. Privy Council Scot. IV. 499 Thomas Strauchane, his *mure greiff. |
| 1814 W. Nicholson Tales in Verse 241 The *moor-haggs were wide—but he sten'd them. |
| 1637–50 Row Hist. Kirk (Wodrow Soc.) 557, I hope if I may rule my familie on a *moorhead, may my neighbours in a citie robbe me of my priviledge because I have nighbours? |
| 1798 R. Douglas Agric. Roxb. 150 Cattle..are seized frequently with a serious and alarming disease called the wood-ill, and sometimes the *moor-ill. 1816 Scott Bl. Dwarf x. Though he helped Lambside's cow weel out o' the moor-ill. |
| 1785 Hist. & Antiq. York (1788) I. 249 The chamberlains..had two assistants, called bridge⁓masters, and *mure-masters. |
| 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 306 The sub-soil plough was used for breaking the *moor-pan. |
| 1832 Planting 35 in Libr. Usef. Knowl., Husb. III, Slit planting..is performed..by the *moor planter. Ibid., The moor planter is a heavy instrument, consisting of a wooden shaft and handle two feet nine inches in length, terminated by a single slightly curved prong of well tempered iron or steel. |
| 1811 in W. Marshall Rev. South. Rep. to Board Agric. 532 Sheep pastured on these moors..become what is called *moor-sick. |
| 1814 J. Shirreff Agric. Surv. Shetl. 66 A pining, or wasting, called provincially the *moor-sickness, affects sheep, chiefly in autumn. |
b. In names of plants:
moor-ball, a sponge-like ball formed by the threads of a fresh-water alga,
Conferva ægagropila;
moor-berry, any plant of the genus
Vaccinium,
esp. the bog bilberry (
Vaccinium uliginosum) and the cranberry (
V. oxycoccos);
moor myrtle,
Myrica Gale (Britten & Holland
Plant-n.);
moor-palm, (
a) the flower of the
Carex or sedge tribe; (
b) the flower of the
Eriophorum or cotton-rush; (
c) the catkin of the dwarf sallow,
Salix aurita;
moor-silk = moor-palm (b);
moor-wort,
† (
a) in
OE., some unidentified plant, conjectured by some to be the sundew; (
b)
Andromeda polifolia.
| 1777 Robson Brit. Flora 318 Conferva ægrogropila..*Moor-balls. 1866 Treas. Bot. s.v., Moorballs are sometimes used as pen-wipers. |
| 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 319 *Moor Berries, Vaccinium. 1777 Robson Brit. Flora 56 Vaccinium Oxycoccus..Cranberry,..Moorberry. |
| 1788 W. Marshall Yorksh. II. 342 *Moor-pawms (that is, Moor-Palms), the flowers of the carex tribe [ed. 2, 1796, II. 333, the flowers of eriophorum, the cotton rush]. 1849 Sidonia Sorc. II. 46 From the quantity of moor-palms (Eriophorum Vaginatum) which grow in their numerous rich meadows. 1888 F. A. Lees Flora W. Yorks. 406 Salix aurita L. Dwarf Sallow. ‘Moor-palm’. Ibid. 470 Carex binervis Sm. ‘Seggs’. ‘Moor Palms’—the polliniferous catkins in bloom. |
| c 1882 J. Lucas Stud. Nidderdale 10 In the spring the sheep feed greedily on the flowers of the *moor-silk (cotton-grass). |
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 128 Of þæne smalan *mor-wyrte. 1776 Withering Brit. Plants (1796) II. 373 Andromeda Daboecia. Linn. Irish Wort, or Moorwort. |
c. In names of animals:
moor-bird, a bird that nests in the moors,
esp. the common grouse,
Tetrao lagopus;
moor blackbird (see
quot.);
moor-buzzard, the marsh harrier,
Circus æruginosus;
moor coot, the common gallinule or water hen,
Gallinula chloropus;
moor-fly, a fly used by anglers;
cf. moorish fly;
moor game, the red grouse,
Lagopus scoticus; also rarely, the black grouse,
Tetrao tetrix;
moor harrier, the marsh harrier;
moor hawk = moor buzzard (Swainson 1885);
moor-tetter,
-tit,
titling, (
a) the stone-chat,
Pratincola rubicola; (
b) the meadow-pipit,
Anthus pratensis.
| 1812 Anne Plumptre tr. Lichtenstein's Trav. S. Afr. I. 224 Woods and level green valleys, with ponds in them, in which were large flocks of *moor-birds. 1900 H. Sutcliffe Shameless Wayne v, Moor-birds were clamorous up above her head. |
| 1839 Macgillivray Brit. Birds II. 100 Turdus torquatus. The Ringed Thrush, or Ring Ouzel... *Moor Blackbird. |
| 1678 Ray Willughby's Ornith. 75 The *More-Buzzard: Milvus æruginosus..common to be seen in Heaths and Wasts. |
| 1605 Drayton Man in Moone 186 The Teale and *Morecoot raking in the Weed. 1831 G. Montagu's Ornith. Dict. 327 Moor coot and Moor hen, names for the Gallinule. |
| 1653 Walton Angler iv. 97 The *moor flie. |
| 1611 Cotgr., Poule griesche,..the henne of the Grice, or *Mooregame. 1769 Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1805) 52 To pot red and black Moor Game. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. 333 The red grouse, or moor game, is found upon most of the mountainous districts in the United Kingdom. |
| 1840 Macgillivray Brit. Birds III. 382 Circus æruginosus. The Marsh Harrier... *Moor Harrier. Moor Buzzard. |
| 1544 Turner Avium Præcip. I 1 b, Qualis est avicula Anglis stonechattera aut *mortettera dicta. 1668 Charleton Onomasticon 91 Rubetra, Rubicola..the Stone⁓chatter... Mortetter, or Black Cap. |
| 1885 Swainson Prov. Names Birds 45 Meadow Pipit (Anthus pratensis)... *Moor tit. 1900 H. Sutcliffe Shameless Wayne iii, Thou look'st scared as a moor-tit. |
| a 1672 Willughby Ornithol. ii. xv. (1676) 169 The *Moor-Titling: The Stone-smich or Stone⁓chatter. 1855 Eng. Cycl., Nat. Hist. III. 894 Moor-titling, one of the names of the..Stone-Chat,..Saxicola rubicola. |
▪ II. moor, n.3 Naut. (
mʊə(r),
mɔə(r))
[f. moor v.1] An act of mooring.
flying (or running) moor (see
quot. 1883).
| 1750 T. R. Blanckley Nav. Expositor, Moar, signifies the laying out the Anchors of a Ship so, as is best and safest for her Riding. 1883 Clark Russell Sailors' Lang., Flying moor, letting go a weather anchor whilst the ship has way, and then, when the cable range is nearly out, letting go the other anchor. 1893 Sloane-Stanley Remin. Midshipm. Life xxxii. 437 The Queen..ran into Beikos, and there made a running moor, which was well performed. |
| attrib. 1906 Daily Chron. 19 Nov. 5/5 In being cast out of the boat they actually fell upon the moor rope. |
▪ III. moor, v.1 (
mʊə(r),
mɔə(r))
Also 5, 7
more, 6–8
moore, 7
moar.
[Early mod.E. more; prob., in spite of its late occurrence, repr. OE. *márian, corresponding to MDu. (according to Kluyver originally Frisian, which accounts for the vowel) mâren to moor (a vessel), tie up (an animal):—WG. *mairôjan, a parallel formation with *mairjan, whence OE. *mǽran (not recorded, but implied by the derivative mǽrels mooring-rope), MDu. mêren (mod.Du. meren) to moor (a vessel). The word passed from Teut. into Fr. as amarrer (13th c.), for which the simple marer occurs in OF. The
MDu. merren,
marren to moor (whence
marline) resulted from a confusion of this
vb. with
merren,
marren to delay, hinder (
mod.Du. only
marren intr., to loiter, delay, hesitate), cogn. w.
mar v.]
1. trans. To secure (a ship, boat, or other floating object) in a particular place by means of chains or ropes, which are either fastened to the shore or to anchors.
| [1495: see mooring vbl. n.] 1497 Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 239 Yron chaynes..that the seid Ship was mored & Rode by in Portesmouth haven. 1540 in R. G. Marsden Sel. Pl. Crt. Adm. (1894) I. 91 The said shippe..being not moryd came rydyng with thee floode by force. 1577 J. Northbrooke Dicing (1843) 64 If it bee lawfull (as Christ sayth)..to moore a ship faster that is ready to runne against the rockes. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. v. 12 They had moored up the Galley. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1780) Cc 3, A ship may be either moored by the head..or by the head and stern. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §102 A transport buoy..was moored with chains at the distance of about fifty fathoms directly North from the Gut. 1810 Scott Lady of L. i. xxiv, Until the rocky isle they reach, And moor their shallop on the beach. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xv, Until night, we were employed in getting out the boats and mooring ship. 1896 Mrs. Caffyn Quaker Grandmother 301 I'll..moor up the boat at our landing-place. |
† b. to moor anchor, to anchor.
Obs.| 1600 Hakluyt Voy. III. 66 The Michael mored ancker vpon this great yce. 1621, 1647 [see d]. |
c. refl. or in pass. with personal subject.
| 1614 Raleigh Hist. World v. i. §4. 331 They therefore not only mored themselues strongly by their Anchors, but chained the sides of their Gallies together. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. i. 112 We carried our hawsers on board her, in order to moor ourselves nearer in shore. 1877 C. W. Thomson Voy. Challenger I. ii. 109 About mid-day we were moored in the Tagus off the town. |
d. transf. and
fig.| 1621 T. Williamson tr. Goulart's Wise Vieillard 179 Who hath commaunded you to moore your ancher of hope in such a little lump of dust as man is? 1647 Ward Simp. Cobler (1843) 20 Those men never Moored their Anchors well in the firme soile of Heaven, that are weather-waft up and down with every eddy-wind of every new doctrine. 1742 Young Nt. Th. ix. 597 Thou, whose heart, Whose little heart, is moor'd within a nook Of this obscure Terrestrial. 1856 Stanley Sinai & Pal. i. (1858) 65 The camels as they lie, like stranded ships, moored round the tents. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xxv. 185 Moored to the rock on two sides, the cabin stood firm. |
2. absol. and intr. a. To secure one's ship (etc.) in a particular place; to anchor.
| 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. ix. 45 More Crosse. To More a crosse is to lay one anchor to one side of the streame, and the other to the other right against one another, and so they beare equally ebbe and flood. Ibid., More Prouiso. To more a Prouiso, is to haue one anchor in the riuer, and a hawser a shore, which is mored with her head a shore. Ibid., Two cables is the least, and foure cables the best to more by. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 207 The Pilot of some small night-founder'd Skiff,..With fixed Anchor in his skaly rind Moors by his side under the Lee. 1678 Phillips (ed. 4), To Moor alongst, is to lay an Anchor amidst the stream, a Head, and another a Stern, when you fear driving ashore. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 165/1 Mooring Water-shot, that is quartering between both [anchors]. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. i. 114 Cumberland Bay, where we moored. 1877 A. B. Edwards Up Nile xxi. 641 Most travellers moor for a day or two at Karnak. |
b. Of a ship: To be made secure by means of anchors; to take up a particular position at anchor.
| 1697 Dryden æneid vi. 1246 At length on Oozy ground his Gallies moor. 1701 in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 308 Such ships..shall moore West Nor-west and East Southeast. 1875 J. H. Bennet Winter Medit. ii. xi. 364 A solid granite quay, that enables small vessels to moor close to land. |
c. With
up: to secure a seaplane; of a seaplane, to be made secure.
| 1936 [see Grabbit boat hook]. 1942 Times 3 Sept. 5/7 Night was slowly mastering daylight as we..landed, to moor up near some naval patrol boats. |
Hence
moored ppl. a.| 1867 J. Ingelow Christ's Resurrect. x, Swaying on a purple sea, The many moored galleys clustering at her quay. 1900 Daily News 24 Sept. 8/7 A violent collision with the moored barges followed. |
▪ IV. moor, v.2 (
mʊə(r),
mɔə(r))
[Prob. f. moor n.1 Cf. moor-evil.] intr. Of cattle: To evacuate sanguineous urine. Hence
ˈmooring vbl. n.| 1737 Bracken Farriery Impr. (1756) I. 257 Cattle which piss Blood, or have the Mooring, as they call it. 1775 J. Watson Hist. Halifax 543 Moor, as a cow does, when her water is mixed with blood. 1824–8 Craven Dial. s.v., When cattle are inflicted with a disease which occasions bloody urine, they are said to be moored... Some attribute it to coarse grass in marshy grounds. |
▪ V. moor see
moar,
mohur,
more,
mort.