moe

See also: Moe, MOE, MoE, moé, , -mö, мое, and -moe

English

Etymology 1

From Japanese 萌え (moe, budding, sprouting), imperfective or continuative form of 萌える (moeru, to burst into bud, to sprout).

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

  • (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈməʊ.eɪ/
  • (General American) IPA(key): /ˈmoʊ.eɪ/
  • Audio (Southern England):(file)
  • Rhymes: -əʊeɪ

Noun

moe (uncountable)

  1. (fandom slang) Strong interest in, and especially fetishistic attraction towards, fictional characters in anime, manga, video games, and/or similar media.
    • 2015 December 9, Jankenpopp, “Top 15 kawaii and moe anime girls”, in My Anime List[2]:
      Someone who is pretty or beautiful isn't moe by definition. Moe characters don't always have to be younger girls, but it certainly helps! In fact, moe characters don't even have to be female! As long as they make you feel like you want to hug and protect them, that's enough!
    • 2023 September 5, Trent Murray, “10 Best Anime Like Bocchi The Rock”, in Dual Shockers[3], Carole and Tuesday:
      Despite its moe roots and preference for hijinks, Bocchi The Rock is a loving celebration of rock music and the joys of being in a band.
Derived terms
  • figure moe zoku
  • moe anthropomorphism
  • moekko
  • moe sangyo
  • moetan
Translations

Adjective

moe (comparative more moe or moe-er, superlative most moe or moe-est)

  1. (fandom slang) Cute, adorable. (of fictional characters in anime, manga, video games, and/or similar media)
Translations

See also

Etymology 2

Variant forms.

Pronunciation

Adverb

moe

  1. Obsolete form of mo.
  2. Obsolete form of more.

Noun

moe

  1. Obsolete form of mow (wry face, grimace).
  2. Obsolete form of moa.

Verb

moe

  1. Obsolete form of moo.
  2. Obsolete form of mow (to make faces).

Anagrams

Cypriot Arabic

Etymology

From Arabic مُوَيْئة (muwayʔa), a diminutive of ماء (māʔ).

Noun

moe f (plural moyát)

  1. water

References

  • Borg, Alexander (2004) A Comparative Glossary of Cypriot Maronite Arabic (Arabic–English) (Handbook of Oriental Studies; I.70), Leiden and Boston: Brill, page 436

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mu/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: moe
  • Rhymes: -u

Etymology 1

From moede with loss of -d-, from Middle Dutch moede (tired, loath), from Old Dutch muothi (tired), from Proto-West Germanic *mōþī, from Proto-Germanic *mōþaz. Cognate to German müde and Old English mēþe.

Adjective

moe (comparative moeër or moeier, superlative moest)

  1. tired, weary
    • 1968, Willem Johan van der Molen & Jan Wit, "Evenals een moede hinde" (psalm 42).
      Evenals een moede hinde / naar het klare water smacht, / schreeuwt mijn ziel om God te vinden / die ik ademloos verwacht.
      Just as a tired doe / yearns for clear water, / my soul cries out to find god / whom I breathlessly expect.
    Synonym: vermoeid
Usage notes

This word is usually used predicatively rather than attributively. If an attributive sense is needed, most people use vermoeid. The attributive forms moeie and moeier are often proscribed. The form moede is dated and today mostly used in literary or formal contexts.

Declension
Declension of moe
uninflected moe
inflected moeë
comparative moeër
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial moe moeër het moest
het moeste
indefinite m./f. sing. moeë moeëre moeste
n. sing. moe moeër moeste
plural moeë moeëre moeste
definite moeë moeëre moeste
partitive moes moeërs
Declension of moe
uninflected moe
inflected moeie
comparative moeier
positive comparative superlative
predicative/adverbial moe moeier het moest
het moeste
indefinite m./f. sing. moeie moeiere moeste
n. sing. moe moeier moeste
plural moeie moeiere moeste
definite moeie moeiere moeste
partitive moes moeiers
Alternative forms
Descendants
  • Afrikaans: moeg
  • Jersey Dutch: mûx,
  • Negerhollands: moe, mu

Etymology 2

Shortening of moeder.

Noun

moe f (plural moeken, diminutive moeke n or moetje n)

  1. (informal, dialectal) mother
    Synonyms: moeder, mam
Usage notes

More common in Belgium as moeke.

Estonian

Noun

moe

  1. genitive singular of mood

Galician

Verb

moe

  1. inflection of moer:
    1. third-person singular present indicative
    2. second-person singular imperative

Hawaiian

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *mohe (compare Tongan mohe, Maori moe)[1] from Proto-Oceanic (compare Fijian moce).[2] (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmo.e/, [ˈmo.we]

Verb

moe

  1. to sleep
  2. to lie down
  3. to die
  4. to ambush
  5. to marry
  6. to incubate eggs (of birds)

Derived terms

  • hoʻomoe (causative/simulative)
  • kāmoe (lie flat, verb)
  • lumi moe (bedroom)
  • moemoe (reduplicated form)

Noun

moe

  1. bed
    Synonyms: moekū, moena
  2. dream
  3. marriage
  4. calmness

References

  1. ^ Pukui, Mary Kawena, Elbert, Samuel H. (1986) “moe”, in Hawaiian Dictionary, revised & enlarged edition, Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai'i Press, →ISBN, page 249
  2. ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “mohe”, in “POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online”, in Oceanic Linguistics, volume 50, number 2, pages 551-559

Japanese

Romanization

moe

  1. Rōmaji transcription of もえ

Lovono

Noun

moe

  1. house

References

Maori

Etymology

From Proto-Polynesian *mohe (compare Tongan mohe, Hawaiian moe) from Proto-Oceanic (compare Fijian moce).[1][2] (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Verb

moe

  1. to sleep, to nap
  2. to dream
  3. to marry
  4. to die
  5. to faint

Noun

moe

  1. sleep
  2. dream
    Synonym: moemoeā

Adjective

moe

  1. dormant

Derived terms

References

  1. ^ Ross Clark and Simon J. Greenhill, editors (2011), “mohe”, in “POLLEX-Online: The Polynesian Lexicon Project Online”, in Oceanic Linguistics, volume 50, number 2, pages 551-559
  2. ^ Tregear, Edward (1891) Maori-Polynesian Comparative Dictionary[1], Wellington, New Zealand: Lyon and Blair, pages 246-7

Further reading

  • moe” in John C. Moorfield, Te Aka: Maori–English, English–Maori Dictionary and Index, 3rd edition, Longman/Pearson Education New Zealand, 2011, →ISBN.

Middle French

Noun

moe

  1. alternative form of moue (grimace)

Old French

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Frankish *mauwu (pout). Attested from ca. 1176.

Pronunciation

  • (classical) IPA(key): /ˈmɔə/
  • (late) IPA(key): /ˈmuə/

Noun

moe oblique singularf (oblique plural moes, nominative singular moe, nominative plural moes)

  1. grimace

Descendants

References

Rapa Nui

Etymology

See here.

Verb

moe

  1. sleep
  2. lie down

Samoan

Verb

moe

  1. sleep

Derived terms

Sranan Tongo

Etymology

Borrowed from Dutch moeten.

Verb

moe

  1. must
  2. have to
  3. should

Tahitian

Verb

moe

  1. sleep

Usage notes

Archaic; use taʻoto.

Teanu

Etymology

From Proto-Oceanic *ʀumaq, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *ʀumaq, from Proto-Austronesian *ʀumaq.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /moe/, /mʷoe/

Noun

moe

  1. house

References

Tetum

Adjective

moe

  1. ashamed

Noun

moe

  1. shame