Wiktionary

mu

See also: μ, Μ, and Appendix:Variations of "mu"

EnglishEdit

 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
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Ancient Greek Alphabet
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lambda
    →
nu
Μ μ
Ancient Greek: μῦ
Wikipedia article on mu

Etymology 1Edit

From Ancient Greek μῦ (mû), derived from Phoenician 𐤌𐤌‎ (mm /mem/, “water”). Doublet of mem.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

mu (countable and uncountable, plural mus)

  1. The 12th letter of the Modern Greek alphabet.
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit

Etymology 2Edit

From Japanese 無 (mu, “nothing, neither yes nor no”).

PronunciationEdit

InterjectionEdit

mu

  1. (Zen Buddhism) Neither yes nor no.
    • 1974, Robert M[aynard] Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values, New York, N.Y.: William Morrow & Company, →ISBN:
      Mu means "no thing." Like "Quality" it points outside the process of dualistic discrimination. Mu simply says, "No class; not one, not zero, not yes, not no." […] It's a great mistake, a kind of dishonesty, to sweep nature's mu answers under the carpet.
    • 1979, Douglas Hofstadter, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid:
      Achilles: Oh, but MU is Jōshū’s answer. By saying MU, Jōshū let the other monk know that only by not asking such questions can one know the answer to them.
      Tortoise: Jōshū “unasked” the question. […]
      Achilles: […] And the answer of “MU” here rejects the premises of the question, which are that one or the other must be chosen.
    • 1996, Dan Simmons, "Looking for Kelly Dahl", The Year's Best Science Fiction, page 424:
      "Mu," said Kelly Dahl.
      On one level mu means only yes, but on a deeper level of Zen it was often used by the master when the acolyte asked a stupid, unanswerable or wrongheaded question such as "Does a dog have the Buddha-nature?" The Master would answer only, "Mu," meaning—I say "yes" but mean "no," but the actual answer is: Unask the question.
    • 2002, Norman Waddell and Masao Abe, The Heart of Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō, page 72:
      The Fifth Patriarch's utterance You say mu [Buddha-nature] because Buddha-nature is emptiness articulates clearly and distinctly the truth that emptiness is not "no". In uttering Buddha-nature-emptiness one does not say "half a pound." One does not say "eight ounces." One says "mu."
    • 2010, Joan Price, Sacred Scriptures of the World Religions, page 70:
      A monk once asked Master Joshu, 'Has a dog the Buddha Nature or not?' Joshu said, 'Mu!'

NounEdit

mu (uncountable)

  1. (Zen Buddhism) Nothingness; nonexistence; the illusory nature of reality.
    • 2012, Omori, Introduction To Zen Training, →ISBN, page 115:
      That being the case, we should naturally choose to contemplate mu from morning to night, forgetting everything.
    • 2012, Dr Robert Wilkinson, Nishida and Western Philosophy, →ISBN:
      Consequently, though mu is mindlike, the likeness to individual consciousness cannot be pushed very far.
    • 2013, Sean Murphy & Natalie Goldberg, One Bird, One Stone: 108 Contemporary Zen Stories, →ISBN, page xvii:
      The monk posed to Chaoi-chou a question: Does a dog have a buddha nature or not?" Chao-chou, without a moment's hesitation, answered, “Mu." (Translated as "No.")
    • 2013, Maura O'Halloran, Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind, →ISBN:
      If mu is mind, consciousness, it is nothing.
Usage notesEdit

Used to answer a question that if answered with "yes" or "no" would imply something false.

SynonymsEdit

See alsoEdit

  • ( non-affirmative, non-negative answer): n/a

Etymology 3Edit

From Mandarin 畝／亩 (mǔ).

NounEdit

mu (plural mu)

  1. A unit of surface area, currently equivalent two-thirds of a decare (about 666 meters squared).
    • 2004, Ho, Peter, “The Wasteland Auction Policy in Northwest China: Solving Environmental Degradation and Rural Poverty?”, in Rural Development in Transitional China: The New Agriculture‎[1], →ISBN, →ISSN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 125‎[2]:
      Pengyang county was administered by Guyuan before 1988. In contrast to Guyuan, Pengyang is relatively wealthy. Farmers earn a considerable income through tobacco cultivation, which can yield an annual gross income of Rmb 1,500-2,000 per mu. In 1996, the cultivated area of tobacco in Pengyang was 11,000 mu.⁷
    • 2007 — Chang Liu, “Peasants and Revolution in Rural China: Rural Political Change in the North China Plain and the Yangzi Delta, 1850-1949”, page 87
      Of 114 village farming families, only ten had more than 30 mu of land and only five had more than 60 mu.

AnagramsEdit

AnguthimriEdit

NounEdit

mu

  1. (Mpakwithi) buttocks

ReferencesEdit

  • Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 187

AsturianEdit

InterjectionEdit

mu

  1. moo (sound made by a cow or bull)

CzechEdit

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

mu

  1. singular dative masculine of on
    Řekni mu, že jím. ― Tell him, I am eating.

SynonymsEdit

EstonianEdit

PronounEdit

mu

  1. genitive singular of ma

Usage notesEdit

  • Used unstressed in a sentence. When the pronoun is stressed, minu (genitive of mina) is used.

ExtremaduranEdit

AdverbEdit

mu

  1. very

See alsoEdit

FrenchEdit

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

mu m (plural mu)

  1. mu (Greek letter)

Further readingEdit

Hanga HundiEdit

NounEdit

mu

  1. (a) crocodile

Further readingEdit

HausaEdit

EtymologyEdit

Cognates include Mangas mun, Polci mii, Miship mun.

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

mū

  1. we (1st person plural pronoun)

Ikobi-MenaEdit

NounEdit

mu (Mena), mụ (Ikobi)

  1. water

ReferencesEdit

IndonesianEdit

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

mu

  1. (text messaging, informal) Alternative spelling of -mu.

ItalianEdit

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /ˈmu/
  • Rhymes: -u
  • Syllabification: mù

NounEdit

mu m or f (invariable)

  1. the name of the letter M

JapaneseEdit

RomanizationEdit

mu

  1. Rōmaji transcription of む
  2. Rōmaji transcription of ム

JingphoEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from Burmese မူး (mu:).

NounEdit

mu

  1. two anna bit

ReferencesEdit

  • Kurabe, Keita (2016-12-31), “Phonology of Burmese loanwords in Jinghpaw”, in Kyoto University Linguistic Research‎[3], volume 35, →DOI, →ISSN, pages 91–128

JurchenEdit

NounEdit

mu

  1. water

ReferencesEdit

  • Gisaburō Norikura Kiyose, A Study of the Jurchen Language and Script: Reconstruction and Decipherment (1977)

KitubaEdit

PronounEdit

mu

  1. I

Kom (Cameroon)Edit

Etymology 1Edit

NounEdit

mu

  1. water

Etymology 2Edit

AdjectiveEdit

mu

  1. old

ReferencesEdit

  • Randy Jones, Provisional Kom - English lexicon (2001, Yaoundé, Cameroon)

LashiEdit

PronunciationEdit

VerbEdit

mu

  1. to happen

ReferencesEdit

  • Hkaw Luk (2017) A grammatical sketch of Lacid‎[4], Chiang Mai: Payap University (master thesis)

MalayEdit

EtymologyEdit

Shortened form of kamu, from Proto-Malayic *kamu(ʔ), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)kamu, *kamiu, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)kamu, *kamiu.

PronunciationEdit

PronounEdit

mu

  1. you

See alsoEdit

Malay personal pronouns
singular plural
1st person standard saya / ساي‎
aku/ku- / اکو‎ / كو-‎ (informal/towards God)
-ku / -كو‎ (informal possessive)
hamba / همبا‎ (dated) 		kami / کامي‎ (exclusive)
kita orang / كيت اورڠ‎ (informal exclusive)
kita / کيت‎ (inclusive)
royal beta / بيتا‎
2nd person standard kamu / کامو‎
anda / اندا‎ (formal)
engkau/kau- / اڠکاو‎/ كاو-‎ (informal/towards God)
awak / اوق‎ (friendly/older towards younger)
-mu / -مو‎ (possessive) 		kalian / کاليان‎
kamu semua / كامو سموا‎
kau orang / كاو اورڠ‎ (informal)
royal tuanku / توانكو‎
3rd person standard dia / دي‎
ia / اي‎
beliau / بلياو‎ (honorific)
-nya / -ڽ‎ (possessive) 		mereka / مريک‎
dia orang / دي اورڠ‎ (informal)
royal baginda / بݢيندا‎

MandarinEdit

RomanizationEdit

mu

  1. Nonstandard spelling of mū.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of mú.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of mǔ.
  4. Nonstandard spelling of mù.

Usage notesEdit

  • English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Northern SamiEdit

PronunciationEdit

  • (Kautokeino) IPA(key): /ˈmuː/

PronounEdit

mū

  1. accusative/genitive of mun

PolishEdit

PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

Alternative formsEdit

PronounEdit

mu m

  1. dative singular mute of on

PronounEdit

mu n

  1. dative singular mute of ono

See alsoEdit

Etymology 2Edit

Onomatopoeic.

InterjectionEdit

mu

  1. moo (sound made by cows and bulls)
Derived termsEdit
noun
verb

Further readingEdit

  • mu in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • mu in Polish dictionaries at PWN

PortugueseEdit

PronunciationEdit

  • Rhymes: -u
  • Hyphenation: mu

Etymology 1Edit

Inherited from Old Portuguese muu, from Latin mūlum (“mule”). Doublet of mulo.

NounEdit

mu m (plural mus)

  1. mule
    Synonym: mulo
Related termsEdit

Etymology 2Edit

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek μῦ (mû).

NounEdit

mu m (plural mus)

  1. mu (Greek letter)
  2. Synonym of muão, múon (“muon”)

Etymology 3Edit

Onomatopoeic.

Alternative formsEdit

InterjectionEdit

mu

  1. moo (the call of a cow)

RomanianEdit

EtymologyEdit

Onomatopoeic.

InterjectionEdit

mu

  1. moo (sound made by cows)

Scottish GaelicEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Old Irish imb. Cognates include Irish um and Manx mysh.

PronunciationEdit

PrepositionEdit

mu (+ dative, triggers lenition)

  1. about, around
    Bha craobhan mu ghàrradh an taighe. ― There were trees around the house's yard.
  2. about, concerning
    Bha sinn a' bruidhinn mu làithean san sgoil againn. ― We were talking about our days at school.
  3. about, approximately
    Bidh a' chuairt a' toirt mu thrì uairean. ― The trip will take about three hours.

InflectionEdit

Personal inflection of mu
Number Person Simple Emphatic
Singular 1st umam umamsa
2nd umad umadsa
3rd m uime uimesan
3rd f uimpe uimpese
Plural 1st umainn umainne
2nd umaibh umaibhse
3rd umpa umpasan

Derived termsEdit

Serbo-CroatianEdit

PronounEdit

mu (Cyrillic spelling му)

  1. to him (clitic dative singular of ȏn (“he”))
  2. to it (clitic dative singular of òno (“it”))
  3. (emphatic, possessive, dative) his, of his (clitic dative singular of ȏn (“he”))
    Gdje mu je auto?
    Where is his car?
  4. (emphatic, possessive, dative) its, of its (clitic dative singular of òno (“it”))

DeclensionEdit

    Inflection of 3rd-person pronouns
Singular Plural
Masculine Feminine Neuter Masculine Feminine Neuter
nominative ȏn òna òno òni òne òna
genitive njȅga, ga njȇ, je njȅga, ga njȋh, ih njȋh, ih njȋh, ih
dative njȅmu, mu njȏj, joj njȅmu, mu njȉma, im njȉma, im njȉma, im
accusative njȅga, ga, nj njȗ, ju, je njȅga, ga, nj njȋh, ih njȋh, ih njȋh, ih
vocative — — — — — —
locative njȅm, njȅmu njȏj njȅm, njȅmu njȉma njȉma njȉma
instrumental njȋm, njíme njȏm, njóme njȋm, njíme njȉma njȉma njȉma

SpanishEdit

PronunciationEdit

  • IPA(key): /ˈmu/ [ˈmu]
  • Rhymes: -u
  • Syllabification: mu

Etymology 1Edit

Onomatopoeic.

InterjectionEdit

mu

  1. moo (sound of a cow)
Derived termsEdit

Etymology 2Edit

NounEdit

mu f (plural múes)

  1. Misspelling of mi. (mu, the Greek letter Μ, μ)

Etymology 3Edit

AdverbEdit

mu

  1. (slang) Clipping of muy.

Further readingEdit

SumerianEdit

RomanizationEdit

mu

  1. Romanization of 𒈬 (mu)

SwedishEdit

PronunciationEdit

InterjectionEdit

mu

  1. moo

NounEdit

mu n

  1. moo; the sound of a cow or a bull

See alsoEdit

AnagramsEdit

TàyEdit

EtymologyEdit

From Proto-Tai *ʰmuːᴬ (“pig”). Cognate with Thai หมู (mǔu), Northern Thai ᩉ᩠ᨾᩪ, Lao ໝູ (mū), Lü ᦖᦴ (ṁuu), Tai Dam ꪢꪴ, Shan မူ (mǔu), Ahom 𑜉𑜥 (mū), Zhuang mou, Bouyei mul.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

mu (𤝕, 牳)

  1. pig

ReferencesEdit

  • Hoàng Văn Ma; Lục Văn Pảo; Hoàng Chí (2006) Từ điển Tày-Nùng-Việt [Tay-Nung-Vietnamese dictionary] (in Vietnamese), Hanoi: Nhà xuất bản Từ điển Bách khoa Hà Nội

TurkishEdit

ParticleEdit

mu

  1. Used to form interrogatives.
    Ona bu soruyu sordun mu?
    Did you ask him/her this question?
    Mutlu musun?
    Are you happy?
    Pikniğe gitmiyor muyuz?
    Aren't we going for a picnic?

Usage notesEdit

  • Personal suffixes are added to the interrogative particles, as well as the past tense suffixes.
  • This form is used when the last vowel of the previous word is "o" or "u". Other forms used with different vowels are: mı?, mi? and mü?

TzotzilEdit

PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

AdjectiveEdit

mu

  1. delicious

Etymology 2Edit

ParticleEdit

mu

  1. (negation) not
    Mu jna'. ― I do not know him/her/it.
SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit

(particles)

ReferencesEdit

VietnameseEdit

EtymologyEdit

It is not clear which between "pubic region" and "shell" is the more original, although the sense "back" is certainly a derivative.

Compare Zhuang moz.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

mu • (模)

  1. pubes, the pubic region
  2. (of hands and feet) back
    mu bàn tay ― back of the hand
  3. the shells of some animals
    Synonym: mai

VolapükEdit

EtymologyEdit

Borrowed from Spanish muy (“very”).

AdverbEdit

mu

  1. extremely

West MakianEdit

EtymologyEdit

Compare Ternate omu (“ripe”).

PronunciationEdit

VerbEdit

mu

  1. (stative) to be ripe

ConjugationEdit

Conjugation of mu (stative verb)
singular plural
inclusive exclusive
1st person timu mimu amu
2nd person nimu fimu
3rd person inanimate imu dimu
animate mamu
imperative —, mu —, mu

Alternative formsEdit

ReferencesEdit

  • Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎[5], Pacific linguistics

YorubaEdit

Etymology 1Edit

Alternative formsEdit

  • mọ (Ọ̀wọ̀, Ìkálẹ̀)

PronunciationEdit

VerbEdit

mu

  1. to drink
    Má mu ọtí tó o bá fẹ́ wakọ̀. ― Don't drink alcohol if you want to drive.
  2. to suck
    Ọmọ-ọwọ́ ṣì ń mu ọmú. ― The baby is still sucking breast.
  3. to lick (juicy fruits such as oranges, or deserts such as ice cream)
    Ọmọdé ń mu ọsàn. ― The child is licking orange.
  4. to smoke
    Kò kí ń mu sìgá. ― She doesn't smoke cigarettes.
Derived termsEdit

Etymology 2Edit

PronunciationEdit

VerbEdit

mú

  1. to take
  2. to catch
    Àwọn ọlọ́pàá ti mú wa o. ― The police have caught us!
    Mo mú bọ́ọ̀lù. ― I caught the ball.
  3. to have an effect on (relating to temperature)
    Òtútù ń mú mi. ― I feel cold. (Cold is having an effect on me)
  4. (auxiliary verb) to cause something to do something else (must be used with another verb)
    Oògùn yẹn mú mi sùn. ― That drug made me sleep.
    Ó mú mi mumi. ― It made me drink water.
  5. to be sharp
    Ọbẹ̀ náà mú. ― That knife is sharp.
Derived termsEdit

Etymology 3Edit

PronunciationEdit

VerbEdit

mù

  1. to be hidden
    Ó mù sábẹ́ igbó. ― It's hidden under the bush.

Etymology 4Edit

Cognates with Yoruba mọ̀

PronunciationEdit

VerbEdit

mù

  1. (Ijebu) to know
Derived termsEdit

ZouEdit

VerbEdit

mu

  1. see

ReferencesEdit

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