† motheadj.

Etymology: < early Scandinavian (compare Old Icelandic móðr , Old Swedish moþer (Swedish †mod ), Old Danish modh (Danish (archaic) mod )), cognate with the West Germanic ja -stem represented by Old English mēðe , Middle Dutch moede (Dutch moede ), Old Saxon mōði (Middle Low German mȫde , moede ), Old High German muodi (Middle High German müede , German müde ), probably originally a past participial derivative (with dental suffixation) of the Germanic verb represented by Middle Dutch moeyen (Dutch moeien ), Middle Low German mōien , Old High German muoen (Middle High German müen , German mühen ) to tire (compare Gothic afmauiþs tired), cognate with colloquial Russian majat′ to weary, tire, torment, Russian majat′sja to toil, pine, Bulgarian maja to keep, delay, destroy, Albanian mej to reduce something gradually, and perhaps (with l extension) ancient Greek μῶλυς tired, weary, μῶλος toil, struggle, classical Latin mōlēs mass (compare mole n.²).