moulder
Part of speech: verb
noun
Morphological type: derivation
Topics: arts
crafts
engineering
hobbies
lifestyle
metallurgy
metalworking
natural-sciences
physical-sciences
Etymology: From mould (“loose friable soil; rotting earth regarded as the substance of the human body”) + -er (suffix forming frequentative verbs), probably influenced by mould (“furry growth of fungi”). Mould is derived from Middle English mold, molde (“loose friable soil, dirt, earth; earth as the substance out of which God made man, and to which the human body decays into after death”), from Old English molde (“earth, soil”), from Proto-Germanic *muldō (“dirt, soil; furry growth of fungi, mould”), from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“to crush, grind”).
Base: mould
Affixes: -er
Inflected forms:
form: moulders
pos: verb
tags: present
singular
third-person
form: mouldering
pos: verb
tags: participle
present
form: mouldered
pos: verb
tags: participle
past
form: mouldered
pos: verb
tags: past
form: molder
pos: verb
tags: alternative
form: moulders
pos: noun
tags: plural
Senses:
gloss: Often followed by away or down: to cause (something) to decay or rot, or to crumble to pieces.
pos: verb
tags: Northern-England
Scotland
UK
transitive
examples: In a certaine kingdome of theſe late-diſcovered Indies, vpon the day of a ſolemne proceſſion, in vvhich the Idoles they adore, are publikely caried vpo and dovvne, […] there are numbered of others ſeene, vvho proſtrating themſelves alongſt vpon the ground, endure very paciently to be mouldred and cruſhed to death, vnder the Chariots vvheeles, thinking thereby to purchaſe after their death, a veneration of holineſſe, of vvhich they are not defrauded.
[S]harp and corroding rheums had so early mouldered those rocks and hardest parts of his fabric [teeth], that a man might well conceive that his years were never like to double or twice tell over his teeth.
gloss: To cause (someone or something) to die away or disappear.
pos: verb
tags: UK
figuratively
obsolete
transitive
examples: How many men have we seen moulder and crumble away great estates, and yet pay no debts?
gloss: Often followed by away: to decay or rot, or to crumble to pieces.
pos: verb
tags: UK
intransitive
examples: In buyldinge of a fortreſſe or other honorable mantion⸝ it aught to be well conſidered that the cement⸝ wherewith the ſtones be layde⸝ be firme and well bindynge. For if it be brokle ⁊ will mouldre a way with euery ſhowre of raine⸝ the buyldynge may nat contynewe⸝ […]
To them [the Muses] Great WILLIAM's Glory to recal / VVhen Statues moulder, and vvhen Arches fall.
[H]is [Time's] gradual touch / Has moulder'd into beauty many a tovver, / VVhich, vvhen it frovvn'd vvith all its battlements, / VVas only terrible: […]
Three hundred years of peace, enjoyed by the ſoft inhabitants of Aſia, had aboliſhed the exerciſe of arms, and removed the apprehenſion of danger. The ancient vvalls vvere ſuffered to moulder avvay, and all the revenue of the moſt opulent cities vvas referred for the conſtruction of baths, temples, and theatres.
So well had the embalmers done their part / With spice and precious unguents, to imbue / The perfect corpse, that each had still the hue / Of living man, […] / The robes of royalty which once they wore, / Long since had mouldered off and left them bare: / Naked upon their thrones behold them there, / Statues of actual flesh, … a fearful sight!
And when the public, which has not been insensible to the merits of "Sense and Sensibility," "Pride and Prejudice," "Mansfield Park," and "Emma," shall be informed that the hand which guided that pen is now mouldering in the grave, perhaps a brief account of Jane Austen will be read with a kindlier sentiment than simple curiosity.
The day is cold, and dark, and dreary; / It rains, and the wind is never weary; / The vine still clings to the mouldering wall, / But at every gust the dead leaves fall, / And the day is dark and dreary.
John Brown's body lies a mouldering in the grave, / John Brown's body lies a mouldering in the grave, / John Brown's body lies a mouldering in the grave, / but his soul goes marching on!
[T]hose traceries should be replaced as they are, and left in reverence until they moulder away.
The house had been untenanted for some years and was threatening to molder into a picturesque decay when the Douglases took possession of it.
The village once had a much higher status with a 14th-century castle – the last remnants of which are mouldering under earth banks in the local golf course.
Today the trackbed moulders, although Lancashire council reports that it's largely intact to around 1.5 miles south of Fleetwood.
gloss: To die away, to disappear.
pos: verb
tags: UK
figuratively
intransitive
examples: Let thoſe, vvho in theſe latter dayes haue ſo earneſtly laboured, to frame and eſtabliſh vnto vs, an exerciſe of religion and ſeruice of God, ſo contemplatiue and immaterial, vvonder nothing at all, if ſome be found, vvho thinke, it vvould haue eſcaped and mouldred avvay betvveene their fingers, if it had not held and continued amongſt vs, as a marke, a title and inſtrument of diuiſion and faction, more then by it ſelfe.
As to thoſe offerd condeſcenſions of Charitable connivence, or toleration, if vve conſider vvhat vvent before, and vvhat follovvs, they moulder into nothing.
[A]ll idea of serious opposition to the house of Hanover had long mouldered away; […]
Never man / So moulder'd in a sinecure as he: […]
All I ask is to be left alone to moulder away in solitude.
To send them back: what have they to go back to? / To the stale food mouldering in the larder, / The stale thoughts mouldering in their minds.
gloss: Often followed by away: of a group of people (especially an army): to diminish in number; to dwindle.
pos: verb
tags: UK
figuratively
intransitive
obsolete
examples: The Corniſh Army vvas greater in Reputation, than Numbers; […] if they vvere compelled to march Eaſtvvards, to vvhich they vvere not inclined, it vvas to be doubted they vvould moulder avvay ſo faſt, that there vvould be little addition of ſtrength by it.
The other [preacher] finding his congregation mouldering every Sunday, and hearing at length what was the occasion of it, resolved to give his parish a little Latin in his turn; […]
gloss: A person who moulds dough into loaves for baking into bread.
pos: noun
tags: UK
archaic
gloss: A person who moulds or shapes material into objects, especially clay into bricks, pottery, etc.
pos: noun
tags: UK
broadly
examples: It was, however, most interesting work, and the moulders themselves were a decent crowd, never tired of making jokes about themselves such as the hoary one that moulders did not live long, which however ran counter to the other one that no germs could live in a foundry—the atmosphere was too foul.
gloss: An instrument or machine used to mould or shape material into objects.
pos: noun
tags: UK
broadly
gloss: A person or thing that influences or shapes; an influencer, a shaper.
pos: noun
tags: UK
broadly
figuratively
gloss: A person who makes moulds for casting metal; a mouldmaker.
pos: noun
tags: UK
Derived words: amoulder
foulder
milder
mouldered
mouldering
mouldery
moulter
mouldress
Translations:
lang: Dutch
word: rotten
lang: Dutch
word: vergaan
lang: Esperanto
word: diseriĝi
lang: Finnish
word: mädätä
lang: Finnish
word: mureta
lang: Russian
word: гнить
roman: gnitʹ
lang: Russian
word: сгнить
roman: sgnitʹ
lang: Ukrainian
word: розклада́тися
roman: rozkladátysja
lang: Ukrainian
word: розкла́стися pf or розікла́стися
roman: rozklástysja
lang: Ukrainian
word: розсипа́тися
roman: rozsypátysja