MOULT
What does "MOULT" mean?
To shed old feathers, hair, skin, or shell so that new growth can replace it.
Meanings
- To shed feathers, hair, skin, horns, or an outer layer periodically. The snake will moult several times as it grows through the summer.
- The process or period of shedding such a layer. During the moult the hens stopped laying almost entirely.
Did you know?
- The 'l' in 'moult' was never supposed to be there - the word comes from Latin 'mutare' and had no L, but writers added one to make it look more learned, and American English later quietly dropped it back to 'molt'.
Word origin
From Middle English 'mouten', from Latin 'mutare', 'to change'; the unetymological 'l' crept in around the 16th century by analogy with words like 'fault'.
Remember it
MOULT hides 'OUT' in the middle - moulting is the old coat going OUT.
A little poem
The robin looks worn-
scattering its old colors
to afford the new.
haiku
What it teaches
Growth always costs you the covering you've outgrown; nothing new arrives while the old still fits.
Quick facts
What does MOULT mean?
To shed old feathers, hair, skin, or shell so that new growth can replace it.
Is MOULT a valid word?
Yes — MOULT is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is MOULT?
MOULT has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does MOULT come from?
From Middle English 'mouten', from Latin 'mutare', 'to change'; the unetymological 'l' crept in around the 16th century by analogy with words like 'fault'.
What can MOULT teach us?
Growth always costs you the covering you've outgrown; nothing new arrives while the old still fits.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.