mull

Reading level: hard

Estimated CEFR level: C2 — Proficiency

Estimated from word frequency; not an official CEFR classification.

Definition

  1. noun a term used in Scottish names of promontories
  2. noun an island in western Scotland in the Inner Hebrides
  3. verb reflect deeply on a subject

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English molle, mulle (“dust, rubbish”), possibly from Old English myl (“dust, mould”), from Proto-West Germanic *muli, a deverbal formation from *mulljan and thus cognate with Dutch mul (“dust, mould”), German Müll (“rubbish”), Swedish moln (“cloud”) and related to English mill (“to grind”). Alternatively, from Middle French mol or its etymon Latin mollis (“soft”). Some verbal senses are supplied by Middle English mollen (“to soften, dissolve”), from Old French moillier, from Latin *molliāre (“to steep”), itself from mollis; compare moil.

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