Friday, September 21, 2012

more, moor

More or more means extra or additional--
Would you like some more pie?
More also means to a greater extent or degree--
She liked that more than the other.
More also means further or longer--
She doesn't like him any more.
We don't go there any more.

Moor or moor ( rhymes with more ) means a piece of waste ground--
They went out hunting on the moor, hoping to spot a rabbit or a moor hen.

Moor also means to secure a ship or boat to a a pier or wharf--
He helped to moor the boat to the pier.

Moor may mean to secure something, literally or figuratively--
The spire at the top of the Empire State Building was once used to moor a dirigible.

Now that you know that, you can say--
"They don't moor the boat near the town any more."

Note--"Moor" ( always capitalized ) means one of the people of North Africa--
The Moors once conquered Spain, and ruled there for centuries.
"Moorish" describes the things made by the Moors--
They took a tour of Spain, which included several stops to admire the Moorish architecture.
Note # 2--"mooring" is a participle or noun ( thing or idea ) form of "moor"--
They are mooring the boat now.
The boat has come loose from its mooring.
"Mooring" is used in the figurative expression "to lose one's moorings", meaning to lose one's sense of direction or purpose--
He started out with a career plan in mind, but he seems to have lost his moorings.

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