English
moulder
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”).
Formed from mould ‘loose friable soil’ + -er
Proto-Indo-European *med- ‘to measure’
Proto-Italic *medos ‘measure’
Latin modus ‘measure’
Latin modulus ‘a small measure or interval’
Middle English molde ‘mould, cast’
English mould
The story
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’).
Another origin of moulder
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*med-‘to measure’reconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*medos‘measure’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodus‘measure’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmodulus‘a small measure or interval’
- Old Frenchc. 842–1400modle
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500molde‘mold, cast’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500molden‘to knead or shape (bread)’
- Middle English, derivedc. 1150–1500molder‘maker of bread, baker’
- Englishtodaymoulder
Today it means
verb Often followed by away or down: to cause (something) to decay or rot, or to crumble to pieces.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / moulder