mu
EnglishEdit
← lambda |
→ nu | |
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)
- The 12th letter of the Modern Greek alphabet.
Derived termsEdit
TranslationsEdit
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Etymology 2Edit
From Japanese 無 (mu, “nothing, neither yes nor no”).
PronunciationEdit
InterjectionEdit
mu
- (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.
- 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.
- 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)
- (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
- (nothingness): See also Thesaurus:inexistence
See alsoEdit
- ( non-affirmative, non-negative answer): n/a
Etymology 3Edit
NounEdit
mu (plural mu)
- 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
- (Mpakwithi) buttocks
ReferencesEdit
- Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 187
AsturianEdit
InterjectionEdit
mu
- moo (sound made by a cow or bull)
CzechEdit
PronunciationEdit
PronounEdit
mu
SynonymsEdit
EstonianEdit
PronounEdit
mu
Usage notesEdit
ExtremaduranEdit
AdverbEdit
mu
See alsoEdit
FrenchEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
mu m (plural mu)
- mu (Greek letter)
Further readingEdit
- “mu”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.
Hanga HundiEdit
NounEdit
mu
- (a) crocodile
Further readingEdit
HausaEdit
EtymologyEdit
Cognates include Mangas mun, Polci mii, Miship mun.
PronunciationEdit
PronounEdit
mū
- we (1st person plural pronoun)
Ikobi-MenaEdit
NounEdit
mu (Mena), mụ (Ikobi)
ReferencesEdit
- Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67
IndonesianEdit
PronunciationEdit
PronounEdit
mu
- (text messaging, informal) Alternative spelling of -mu.
ItalianEdit
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
mu m or f (invariable)
- the name of the letter M
JapaneseEdit
RomanizationEdit
mu
JingphoEdit
EtymologyEdit
Borrowed from Burmese မူး (mu:).
NounEdit
mu
- two anna bit
ReferencesEdit
JurchenEdit
NounEdit
mu
ReferencesEdit
- Gisaburō Norikura Kiyose, A Study of the Jurchen Language and Script: Reconstruction and Decipherment (1977)
KitubaEdit
PronounEdit
mu
Kom (Cameroon)Edit
Etymology 1Edit
NounEdit
mu
Etymology 2Edit
AdjectiveEdit
mu
ReferencesEdit
- Randy Jones, Provisional Kom - English lexicon (2001, Yaoundé, Cameroon)
LashiEdit
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
mu
- 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
See alsoEdit
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
- Nonstandard spelling of mū.
- Nonstandard spelling of mú.
- Nonstandard spelling of mǔ.
- 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
PronounEdit
mū
PolishEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
Alternative formsEdit
PronounEdit
mu m
PronounEdit
mu n
See alsoEdit
Etymology 2Edit
Onomatopoeic.
InterjectionEdit
mu
- moo (sound made by cows and bulls)
Derived termsEdit
Further readingEdit
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)
Related termsEdit
Etymology 2Edit
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek μῦ (mû).
NounEdit
mu m (plural mus)
- mu (Greek letter)
- Synonym of muão, múon (“muon”)
Etymology 3Edit
Alternative formsEdit
InterjectionEdit
mu
- moo (the call of a cow)
RomanianEdit
EtymologyEdit
InterjectionEdit
mu
- 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)
- about, around
- Bha craobhan mu ghàrradh an taighe. ― There were trees around the house's yard.
- about, concerning
- Bha sinn a' bruidhinn mu làithean san sgoil againn. ― We were talking about our days at school.
- 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
- mu chuairt air (“about”)
- mu chuairt (“around”)
- mu dheidhinn (“concerning”)
- mu dheireadh (“last (adjective); at last”)
- mun cuairt (“around”)
Serbo-CroatianEdit
PronounEdit
mu (Cyrillic spelling му)
- to him (clitic dative singular of ȏn (“he”))
- to it (clitic dative singular of òno (“it”))
- (emphatic, possessive, dative) his, of his (clitic dative singular of ȏn (“he”))
- Gdje mu je auto?
- Where is his car?
- (emphatic, possessive, dative) its, of its (clitic dative singular of òno (“it”))
DeclensionEdit
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
Etymology 1Edit
InterjectionEdit
mu
- moo (sound of a cow)
Derived termsEdit
Etymology 2Edit
NounEdit
mu f (plural múes)
Etymology 3Edit
AdverbEdit
mu
Further readingEdit
- “mu”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014
SumerianEdit
RomanizationEdit
mu
- Romanization of 𒈬 (mu)
SwedishEdit
PronunciationEdit
- Rhymes: -ʉː
InterjectionEdit
mu
NounEdit
mu n
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
- (Thạch An – Tràng Định) IPA(key): [mu˧˧]
- (Trùng Khánh) IPA(key): [mu˦˥]
NounEdit
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
- 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?
- Ona bu soruyu sordun mu?
Usage notesEdit
TzotzilEdit
PronunciationEdit
Etymology 1Edit
AdjectiveEdit
mu
Etymology 2Edit
ParticleEdit
mu
SynonymsEdit
Derived termsEdit
(particles)
ReferencesEdit
- “mu(1)”, “mu(2)” in Laughlin, Robert M. (1975) The Great Tzotzil Dictionary of San Lorenzo Zinacantán. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.
- Laughlin, Robert M. [et al.] (1988) The Great Tzotzil Dictionary of Santo Domingo Zinacantán, vol. I. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.
VietnameseEdit
EtymologyEdit
It is not clear which between "pubic region" and "shell" is the more original, although the sense "back" is certainly a derivative.
PronunciationEdit
NounEdit
VolapükEdit
EtymologyEdit
Borrowed from Spanish muy (“very”).
AdverbEdit
mu
West MakianEdit
EtymologyEdit
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
mu
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
- to drink
- Má mu ọtí tó o bá fẹ́ wakọ̀. ― Don't drink alcohol if you want to drive.
- to suck
- Ọmọ-ọwọ́ ṣì ń mu ọmú. ― The baby is still sucking breast.
- to lick (juicy fruits such as oranges, or deserts such as ice cream)
- Ọmọdé ń mu ọsàn. ― The child is licking orange.
- to smoke
- Kò kí ń mu sìgá. ― She doesn't smoke cigarettes.
Derived termsEdit
Etymology 2Edit
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
mú
- to take
- to catch
- Àwọn ọlọ́pàá ti mú wa o. ― The police have caught us!
- Mo mú bọ́ọ̀lù. ― I caught the ball.
- to have an effect on (relating to temperature)
- Òtútù ń mú mi. ― I feel cold. (Cold is having an effect on me)
- (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.
- to be sharp
- Ọbẹ̀ náà mú. ― That knife is sharp.
Derived termsEdit
- mú wá (“to bring”)
- mú ẹ̀tanú kúrò (“to break down stereotypes”)
- mú dání (“to hold”)
Etymology 3Edit
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
mù
- to be hidden
- Ó mù sábẹ́ igbó. ― It's hidden under the bush.
Etymology 4Edit
PronunciationEdit
VerbEdit
mù
Derived termsEdit
- mùwé (“to be smart”)
ZouEdit
VerbEdit
mu