different between much vs mush

English

Etymology

From Middle English muche (“much, great”), apocopated variant of muchel (“much, great”), from Old English micel (“big, much”), from Proto-Germanic *mikilaz (“great, many, much”), from Proto-Indo-European *me?h?- (“big, stour, great”). See also mickle, muckle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /m?t??/
• Rhymes: -?t?

Determiner

much (comparative more, superlative most)

1. A large amount of. [from 13^thc.]

   Hurry! We don't have much time!

   They set about the task with much enthusiasm.

   • 1816, Jane Austen, Persuasion:

     As it was, he did nothing with much zeal, but sport; and his time was otherwise trifled away, without benefit from books or anything else.

   • 2011, "Wisconsin and wider", The Economist, 24 February:

     Unless matters take a nastier turn, neither side has much incentive to compromise.

2. (in combinations such as 'as much', 'this much') Used to indicate, demonstrate or compare the quantity of something.

   Add this much water and no more.

   Take as much time as you like.

3. (now archaic or nonstandard) A great number of; many (people). [from 13^thc.]
   • 1526, Bible, tr. William Tyndale, Matthew VI:

     When Jesus was come downe from the mountayne, moch people folowed him.

   • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula:

     There wasn't much people about that day.

4. (now Caribbean, African-American) Many ( + plural countable noun). [from 13^thc.]
   • 1977, Bob Marley, So Much Things to Say:

     They got so much things to say right now, they got so much things to say.

Usage notes

• Much is now generally used with uncountable nouns. The equivalent used with countable nouns is many. In positive contexts, much is widely avoided: I have a lot of money instead of I have much money. There are some exceptions to this, however: I have much hope for the future.
• Unlike many determiners, much is frequently modified by intensifying adverbs, as in “too much”, “very much”, “so much”, “not much”, and so on. (The same is true of many.)

Synonyms

• a great deal of, (informal) a lot of

Antonyms

• little

Related terms

• how much
• too much

Translations

Adjective

much (not comparable)

1. (obsolete) Large, great. [12^th-16^thc.]
2. (obsolete) Long in duration.

Adverb

much (comparative more, superlative most)

1. To a great extent.
2. Often; frequently.

3. (in combinations such as 'as much', 'this much') Used to indicate or compare extent.

   I don't like Wagner as much as I like Mozart.

4. (obsolete) Almost.

Usage notes

• As a verb modifier in positive contexts, much must be modified by another adverb: I like fish very much, I like fish so much, etc. but not *I like fish much.
• As a comparative intensifier, many can be used instead of much if it modifies the comparative form of many, i.e. more with a countable noun: many more people but much more snow.
• May be used in humorous questions to draw attention to somebody's undesirable behaviour: "desperate much?", "cherry-picking much?", etc.

Synonyms

• (to a great extent): (informal) a great deal, (informal) a lot, greatly, highly, (informal) loads, plenty (slang, especially US), very much

Antonyms

• (to a great extent): less, little, few, almost, nearly,

Derived terms

Translations

Pronoun

much

1. A large amount or great extent.

   From those to whom much has been given much is expected.

   We lay awake for much of the night.

Anagrams

• Chum, chum

Chuukese

Verb

much

1. to end

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mux/

Noun

much

1. genitive plural of moucha

Old Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mut??]

Adverb

much

1. Apocopic form of mucho; very, greatly
   • c. 1200, Almerich, Fazienda de Ultramar, f. 36r.

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mux/

Noun

much

1. genitive plural of mucha

Yucatec Maya

Noun

much

1. Obsolete spelling of muuch

English

Etymology 1

Probably a variant of mash, or from a dialectal variant of Middle English mos (“mush, pulp, porridge”); compare Middle English appelmos (“applesauce”), from Old English m?s (“food, victuals, porridge, mush”), from Proto-West Germanic *m?s, from Proto-Germanic *m?s? (“porridge, food”), from Proto-Indo-European *meh?d- (“wet, fat, dripping”). Cognate with Scots moosh (“mush”), Dutch moes (“pulp, mush, porridge”), German Mus (“jam, puree, mush”), Swedish mos (“pulp, mash, mush”). See also moose.

Alternative forms

• moosh

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) enPR: m?sh, IPA^(key): /m??/
• (US) IPA^(key): /m??/
• ,
• Rhymes: -??
• Rhymes: -??

Noun

mush (countable and uncountable, plural mushes)

1. A somewhat liquid mess, often of food; a soft or semisolid substance.
2. (radio) A mixture of noise produced by the harmonics of continuous-wave stations.
3. (surfing) The foam of a breaker.
   • 2008, Bucky McMahon, Night Diver (page 80)

     And Rincon was all about surfing. Flash back thirty-odd years, to a skinny kid on a Styrofoam belly-board, pin-wheeling out into the mush of Jacksonville Beach, Florida.

4. (geology) A magmatic body containing a significant proportion of crystals suspended in the liquid phase or melt.

Translations

Verb

mush (third-person singular simple present mushes, present participle mushing, simple past and past participle mushed)

1. To squish so as to break into smaller pieces or to combine with something else.

   He mushed the ingredients together.

Translations

Derived terms

• apple-mush
• mushy

See also

• mash
• moosh

Etymology 2

From Old High German muos and Goidelic mus (“a pap”) or muss (“a porridge”), or any thick preparation of fruit.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) enPR: m?sh, IPA^(key): /m??/
• ,
• Rhymes: -??

Noun

mush (countable and uncountable, plural mushes)

1. A food comprising cracked or rolled grains cooked in water or milk; porridge.
2. (rural US) Cornmeal cooked in water and served as a porridge or as a thick sidedish like grits or mashed potatoes.
   • 2007, Andrew F. Smith, The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink

     However, they did make and sometimes even bake cornmeal mushes that could be either sweetened or fortified with fat.

Translations

Etymology 3

Believed to be a contraction of mush on, from Michif, in turn a corruption of French marchons! and marche!, the cry of the voyageurs and coureurs de bois to their dogs.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) enPR: m?sh, IPA^(key): /m??/, /m??/
• ,
• Rhymes: -??

Interjection

mush

1. A directive given (usually to dogs or a horse) to start moving, or to move faster.

Translations

Derived terms

• musher

Noun

mush (plural mushes)

1. A walk, especially across the snow with dogs.

Verb

mush (third-person singular simple present mushes, present participle mushing, simple past and past participle mushed)

1. (intransitive) To walk, especially across the snow with dogs.
2. (transitive) To drive dogs, usually pulling a sled, across the snow.
   • 1910, Jack London, Burning Daylight, part 1 chapter 4:

     Together the two men loaded and lashed the sled. They warmed their hands for the last time, pulled on their mittens, and mushed the dogs over the bank and down to the river-trail.

Etymology 4

Simple contraction of mushroom.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) enPR: m?sh, IPA^(key): /m??/
• ,
• Rhymes: -??

Noun

mush (plural mushes)

1. (Quebec, slang) A magic mushroom.

Synonyms

• shroom (slang)

Translations

Etymology 5

From Angloromani mush (“man”), from Romani mursh, from Sanskrit ?????? (manu?ya, “human being, man”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) enPR: mo?osh, IPA^(key): /m??/
• Rhymes: -??

Noun

mush (plural mushes)

1. (Britain, slang, chiefly Southern England) A form of address, normally to a man.

   Synonyms: (UK) mate, (especially US) pal

2. (Britain, slang, chiefly Northern England, Australia) The face.

   Synonym: mug

Translations

References

• Take Our Word for It Issue 101, accessed on 2005-05-09

Etymology 6

Compare French moucheter (“to cut with small cuts”).

Verb

mush (third-person singular simple present mushes, present participle mushing, simple past and past participle mushed)

1. (transitive) To notch, cut, or indent (cloth, etc.) with a stamp.

Anagrams

• Hums, Shum, hums

Angloromani

Etymology

From Romani mur?, from Sanskrit ?????? (manu?ya, “human being, man”).

Noun

mush (plural mushes)

1. man

Descendants

• ? English: mush

References

• “mush” in The Manchester Romani Project, Angloromani Dictionary.