moon
Language: English
Part of speech: verb
Pronunciation: ipa: /muːn/
ipa: /mun/
rhymes: -uːn
Forms: form: moons
form: mooning
form: mooned
form: mooned
Etymology: From Middle English mone, from Old English mōna (“moon”), from Proto-West Germanic *mānō, from Proto-Germanic *mēnô (“moon”), from Proto-Indo-European *mḗh₁n̥s (“moon, month”), probably from *meh₁- (“to measure”).
cognates and doublets
Cognate with Scots mone, mune, muin (“moon”), North Frisian muun (“moon”), Saterland Frisian Moune (“moon”), West Frisian moanne (“moon”), Dutch maan (“moon”), German Mond (“moon”), Danish måne (“moon”), Norwegian Bokmål måne (“moon”), Norwegian Nynorsk måne (“moon”), Swedish måne (“moon”), Faroese máni (“moon”), Icelandic máni (“moon”), Latin mēnsis (“month”). See also month, a related term within Indo-European.
The usage of "moon" to refer to the act reflected its use as a metaphor for the buttocks since 1743. It was popularised from American student slang in the 1960s.
Senses: examples: text: The hooligans mooned the riot police.
text: It was ill-advised of Sam to moon the photographer during the shoot.
coordinate_terms: flash
streak
glosses: To display one's buttocks to, typically as a jest, insult, or protest.
examples: text: Bradly stood bewitched, mooning at the moon. Betimes he bent in a grotesque posture and looked at it between his legs, which was to rid his mind of preconceived colour values by seeing them upside down.
ref: 1938, Norman Lindsay, Age of Consent, 1st Australian edition, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1962, →OCLC, page 164:
glosses: To gaze at lovingly or in adoration.
examples: text: Sarah mooned over Sam's photograph for months.
text: You've been mooning after her forever; why not just ask her out?
text: On some level, the filmmakers behind Monster Trucks must have recognized the ill fit of Till playing a teenager, because they cast Jane Levy, a 27-year-old who can pass for younger but not a decade younger, as Meredith, a nerdy classmate of Tripp’s who moons over him as she insists on making an appointment to tutor him in biology.
ref: 2017 January 12, Jesse Hassenger, “A literal monster truck is far from the stupidest thing about Monster Trucks”, in The Onion AV Club:
text: "No, you're right." Udo shook this newest distraction out of her head. She knew it would come creeping back in through the ears in due time, just as she knew the best way to dispel it was to finish the job and link up with the rest of the Site. In any event, there was something in what Brenda had said that didn't make sense... "But why would he be mooning over her, if she's still awake?"
ref: 2023 September 24, HarryBlank, “Working Wonders”, in SCP Foundation, archived from the original on 25 May 2024:
glosses: (usually followed by over or after) To fuss over something adoringly; to be infatuated with someone.
examples: text: We were only three on board. The poor old skipper mooned in the cabin.
ref: 1898, Joseph Conrad, Youth:
text: I mooned around. I was mighty sick of the room by then.
ref: 2001, Stephen King, The Death of Jack Hamilton:
glosses: To spend time idly, absent-mindedly.
glosses: To expose to the rays of the Moon.
glosses: To adorn with moons or crescents.
examples: text: It is impractical if a currency moons and plummets often.
text: I've followed several of the most popular crypto pundits on Twitter and discovered they constantly brag about their one big Hail Mary pick that mooned but neglect to mention – or delete – their numerous fumbles.
ref: 2019, Mark Grabowski, Cryptocurrencies: A Primer on Digital Money, Routledge, →ISBN:
topics: business
cryptocurrencies
cryptocurrency
finance
glosses: To rise in price rapidly or suddenly.
raw_tags: of a coin or token
topics: card-games
games
glosses: To shoot the moon.
Related terms: month
moonsick
lunar
Moonie
Selene