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mu

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

See also: μ, Μ, and Appendix:Variations of "mu"
Languages (42)
English
Albanian • Anguthimri • Asturian • Czech • Dutch • Estonian • Extremaduran • French • Hanga Hundi • Hausa • Ikobi-Mena • Indonesian • Italian • Japanese • Jingpho • Jurchen • Kituba • Kom (Cameroon) • Lashi • Malay • Mandarin • Northern Sami • Old Irish • Polish • Portuguese • Romanian • Scottish Gaelic • Serbo-Croatian • Slovak • Spanish • Sumerian • Swedish • Tày • Tooro • Turkish • Tzotzil • Vietnamese • Volapük • West Makian • Yoruba • Zou
Page categories

English

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

Etymology 1

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

Pronunciation

Noun

mu (countable and uncountable, plural mus)

  1. The 12th letter of the Modern Greek alphabet.
Derived terms
Translations
See also

Etymology 2

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

Pronunciation

Interjection

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”, in 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, 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!'

Noun

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 notes

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

Synonyms

See also

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

Etymology 3

From Mandarin 畝／亩 (mǔ).

Noun

mu (plural mu)

  1. A unit of surface area, currently equivalent to two-thirtieths of a hectare.
    • [1959 September, Tung Ta-lin [董大林], “The Inevitability of Quick Transition from Lower to Higher Stage of Agricultural Co-operation”, in Agricultural Co-operation in China [中国农业合作化的道路] (China Knowledge Series)‎, 2nd edition, Peking: Foreign Languages Press, →OCLC, page 72:
      The Lucky Star Co-operative in Chuwo County on the plains of southern Shansi had, before the anti-Japanese war, 26 wells, 4 water-wheels and 166.1 mou of irrigated fields, 4.82 per cent of its total arable land.]
    • [1965 July 9 [1965 June 7], “Chienchiang County Reports Increase in Crops”, in Daily Report: Foreign Radio Broadcasts‎, number 131, Foreign Broadcast Information Service, sourced from Wuhan Domestic Service, →OCLC, page DDD 2‎:
      Good news on the summer harvest prevailed in the countryside of Chienchiang County, Hupeh. The county reported remarkable increased in its 600,000 mou of summer food crops this year, surpassing the yield in 1962 which was considered as the best year.]
    • 2004, Peter Ho, “The Wasteland Auction Policy in Northwest China: Solving Environmental Degradation and Rural Poverty?”, in Rural Development in Transitional China: The New Agriculture‎, →ISBN, →ISSN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 125‎:
      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.

Anagrams

Albanian

Pronoun

mu

  1. Dialectal form of mua

Anguthimri

Noun

mu

  1. (Mpakwithi) buttocks

References

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

Asturian

Interjection

mu

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

Czech

Pronunciation

Pronoun

mu

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

Synonyms

Dutch

Etymology

From Ancient Greek μῦ (mû). Doublet of mem and majem.

Pronunciation

Noun

mu m (plural mu's, diminutive muutje n)

  1. mu (letter of the Greek alphabet)

Further reading

Estonian

Pronoun

mu

  1. genitive singular of ma

Usage notes

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

Extremaduran

Adverb

mu

  1. very

See also

French

Pronunciation

Noun

mu m (plural mu)

  1. mu (Greek letter)

Participle

mu (feminine mue, masculine plural mus, feminine plural mues)

  1. post-1990 spelling of mû

Further reading

Hanga Hundi

Noun

mu

  1. (a) crocodile

Further reading

Hausa

Etymology

Cognates include Mangas mun, Polci mii, Miship mun.

Pronunciation

Pronoun

mū

  1. we (1st person plural pronoun)

Ikobi-Mena

Noun

mu (Mena), mụ (Ikobi)

  1. water

References

Indonesian

Pronunciation

Pronoun

mu

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

Italian

Pronunciation

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

Noun

mu m or f (invariable)

  1. the name of the letter M

Japanese

Romanization

mu

  1. The hiragana syllable む (mu) or the katakana syllable ム (mu) in Hepburn romanization.

Jingpho

Etymology

Borrowed from Burmese မူး (mu:).

Noun

mu

  1. two anna bit

References

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

Jurchen

Noun

mu

  1. water

References

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

Kituba

Pronoun

mu

  1. I

Kom (Cameroon)

Etymology 1

Noun

mu

  1. water

Etymology 2

Adjective

mu

  1. old

References

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

Lashi

Pronunciation

Verb

mu

  1. to happen

References

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

Malay

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Pronoun

mu

  1. you

See also

More information singular, plural ...
Malay personal pronouns
singular plural
1st person standard saya / ساي
aku / اکو, ku- / كوـ (informal/towards God)
-ku / ـكو (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 / اڠکاو, kau- / كاوـ (informal/towards God)
awak / اوق (friendly/older towards younger)
-mu / ـمو (possessive)		 awak semua / اوق سموا
kamu semua / كامو سموا
kalian / کالين (informal)
kau orang / كاو اورڠ (informal)
royal tuanku / توانكو
3rd person standard dia / دي
ia / اي
beliau / بلياو (honorific)
-nya / ـڽ (possessive)		 mereka / مريک
dia orang / دي اورڠ (informal)
royal baginda / بݢيندا
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Mandarin

Romanization

mu

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

Usage notes

  • Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Northern Sami

Pronunciation

  • (Kautokeino) IPA(key): /ˈmuː/

Pronoun

mū

  1. accusative/genitive of mun

Old Irish

Pronunciation

Determiner

mu (triggers lenition)

  1. Alternative form of mo (“my”)

Polish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmu/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -u
  • Syllabification: mu

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Pronoun

mu m

  1. dative singular mute of on

Pronoun

mu n

  1. dative singular mute of ono

See also

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

mu

  1. moo (sound made by cows and bulls)
Derived terms
(noun):
  • muczenie
(verb):

Further reading

  • mu in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Pronunciation

  • Rhymes: -u
  • Hyphenation: mu

Etymology 1

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

Noun

mu m (plural mus)

  1. mule
    Synonym: mulo

Etymology 2

Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek μῦ (mû).

Noun

mu m (plural mus)

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

Etymology 3

Onomatopoeic.

Alternative forms

Interjection

mu

  1. moo (the call of a cow)

Romanian

Etymology

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

mu

  1. moo (sound made by cows)

Scottish Gaelic

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

Preposition

mu (+ dative, triggers lenition, combined with the singular definite article mun)

  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.
  4. (dated) on (of clothes)
    Dè chuireas mi umam? ― What shall I wear?

Inflection

More information Person:, simple ...
Personal inflection of mu
Person: simple emphatic
singular first umam umamsa
second umad umadsa
third m uime uimesan
f uimpe uimpese
plural first umainn umainne
second umaibh umaibhse
third umpa umpasan
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Derived terms

Serbo-Croatian

Pronoun

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”))

Declension

More information Singular, Plural ...
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
Close
    Inflection of 3rd-person pronouns

Slovak

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Pronoun

mu

  1. dative of on and ono

Spanish

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

Onomatopoeic.

Interjection

mu

  1. moo (sound of a cow)
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Noun

mu f (plural múes)

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

Etymology 3

Adverb

mu

  1. (slang) Clipping of muy.

Further reading

Sumerian

Romanization

mu

  1. Romanization of 𒈬 (mu)

Swedish

Pronunciation

Interjection

mu

  1. moo

Noun

mu n

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

See also

Anagrams

Tày

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

Noun

mu (𤝕, 牳)

  1. pig

References

  • 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

Tooro

Tooro numbers (edit)
10
1 2  → [a], [b] 10  → 
    Cardinal: -mu, (in abstract counting) emu
    Ordinal: -a okubanza
    Adverbial: kubanza, enyalimu, omurundi gumu

Etymology

From Proto-Bantu *-mòì. Cognate with Kikuyu -mwe and Zulu -nye.

Pronunciation

Numeral

-mu

  1. one
    omuntu omu ― one person
  2. (in the plural) some
    abantu abamu ― some people
  3. (in the plural) same
    abantu abamu ― the same people

Declension

More information Noun class, indefinite ...
Inflected forms of -mu
Noun class indefinite definite
singular plural singular plural
1/2 omu bamu omu abamu
3/4 gumu emu ogumu emu
5/6 limu gamu erimu agamu
7/8 kimu bimu ekimu ebimu
9/10 emu zimu emu ezimu
11/10 rumu orumu
12/14 kamu bumu akamu obumu
13 — tumu — otumu
14/6 bumu gamu obumu agamu
15/6 kumu okumu
16 hamu — ahamu —
18 — —
Close

Derived terms

  • obumu (“unity”)
  • hamu (“together”)

References

  1. Kaji, Shigeki (2007) A Rutooro Vocabulary‎, Tokyo: Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), →ISBN, page 145
  2. Rubongoya, L. T. (2013) Katondogorozi y'Orunyoro-Rutooro n'Orungereza [Runyoro–Rutooro-English and English-Runyoro–Rutooro dictionary]‎, Kampala: Modrug Publishers, →ISBN, pages 238, 542, 571, 583

Turkish

Particle

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 notes

  • 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?

Tzotzil

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Adjective

mu

  1. delicious

Etymology 2

Particle

mu

  1. (negation) not
    Mu jna'. ― I do not know him/her/it.
Synonyms
  • muk'
Derived terms

(particles)

  • mu'yuk

References

Vietnamese

Etymology

It is not clear which between "mons veneris" and "carapace" is the more original, although the sense "back" is certainly a derivative.

Compare Zhuang moz.

Pronunciation

Noun

mu • (模)

  1. mons veneris, pubes, the pubic region
  2. (of hands and feet) back
    mu bàn tay ― back of the hand
  3. the carapaces (dorsal shells) of some animals (e.g. turtles and crustaceans)
    Synonym: mai

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish muy (“very”).

Adverb

mu

  1. extremely

West Makian

Etymology

Compare Ternate omu (“ripe”).

Pronunciation

Verb

mu

  1. (stative) to be ripe

Conjugation

More information singular, plural ...
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
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Alternative forms

References

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

Yoruba

Etymology 1

Pronunciation

Verb

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.
Synonyms
More information Language Family, Variety Group ...
Yoruba Varieties and Languages - mu (“to drink, suck, smoke”)
view map; edit data
Language FamilyVariety GroupVariety/LanguageSubdialectLocationWords
Proto-Itsekiri-SEYSoutheast YorubaÌkálẹ̀ (Ùkálẹ̀)Òkìtìpupamọ
Ọ̀wọ̀ (Ọ̀ghọ̀)Ọ̀wọ̀ (Ọ̀ghọ̀)mọ
ÌtsẹkírìÌwẹrẹmọ
OlùkùmiUgbódùmọ
Proto-YorubaCentral YorubaÈkìtìÈkìtìÀdó Èkìtìmụ
Àkúrẹ́Àkúrẹ́mụ
Mọ̀bàỌ̀tùn Èkìtìmụ
Northwest YorubaÀwórìÈbúté Mẹ́tàmu
Ẹ̀gbáAbẹ́òkútamu
Ẹ̀gbádòÌjàkámọ
ÈkóÈkómu
ÌbàdànÌbàdànmu
ÌlọrinÌlọrinmu
Ọ̀yọ́Ọ̀yọ́mu
Standard YorùbáNàìjíríàmu
Bɛ̀nɛ̀mu
Northeast Yoruba/OkunÌyàgbàÌsánlú Ìtẹ̀dómu
OwéKabbamu
Ede Languages/Southwest YorubaAnaSokodemɔ
Cábɛ̀ɛ́Cábɛ̀ɛ́ (Ìdàdú)mɔ
Tchaouroumɔ
Ǹcà (Ìcà, Ìncà)Baàtɛmɔ
ÌdàácàBeninIgbó Ìdàácà (Dasa Zunmɛ̀)mu
Ọ̀họ̀rí/Ɔ̀hɔ̀rí-ÌjèỌ̀họ̀rí/Ɔ̀hɔ̀rí/ÌjèÌkpòbɛ́mɔ
Onigbolomɔ
Kétu/ÀnàgóKétumu
Ifɛ̀Akpárémɔ
Atakpamɛmɔ
Bokomɔ
Moretanmɔ
Tchetti (Tsɛti, Cɛti)mɔ
KuraAledjo-Kouramɔ
Awotébimɔ
Partagomɔ
Mɔ̄kɔ́léKandimɔ
Northern NagoKambolemɔ
Manigrimɔ
Note: This amalgamation of terms comes from a number of different academic papers focused on the unique varieties and languages spoken in the Yoruboid dialectal continuum which extends from eastern Togo to southern Nigeria. The terms for spoken varieties, now deemed dialects of Yorùbá in Nigeria (i.e. Southeast Yorùbá, Northwest Yorùbá, Central Yorùbá, and Northeast Yorùbá), have converged with those of Standard Yorùbá leading to the creation of what can be labeled Common Yorùbá (Funṣọ Akere, 1977). It can be assumed that the Standard Yorùbá term can also be used in most Nigerian varieties alongside native terms, especially amongst younger speakers. This does not apply to the other Nigerian Yoruboid languages of Ìṣẹkírì and Olùkùmi, nor the Èdè Languages of Benin and Togo.
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Derived terms
  • ajẹ-òkúta-má-mu-omi
  • ẹmu (“palm wine”)
  • momi (“to drink water”)
  • mọtí (“to drink alcohol”)
  • mugbó (“to smoke weed”)
  • mumi (“to drink water”)
  • mutí (“to drink alcohol”)
  • mímu (“drinkable, drinking”)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Verb

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 terms
  • mú wá (“to bring”)
  • mú ẹ̀tanú kúrò (“to break down stereotypes”)
  • mú dání (“to hold”)

Etymology 3

Pronunciation

Verb

mù

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

Etymology 4

Cognates with Yoruba mọ̀

Pronunciation

Verb

mù

  1. (Ijebu) to know
Derived terms

Zou

Verb

mu

  1. see

References

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