Moor
WordNet
noun
(1) Open land usually with peaty soil covered with heather and bracken and moss
(2) One of the Muslim people of north Africa; of mixed Arab and Berber descent; converted to Islam in the 8th century; conqueror of Spain in the 8th century
verb
(3) Secure with cables or ropes
"Moor the boat"
(4) Come into or dock at a wharf
"The big ship wharfed in the evening"
(5) Secure in or as if in a berth or dock
"Tie up the boat"
WiktionaryText
Etymology
More, Maure; from the Latin Maurus, a Moor, meaning a Mauritanian, an inhabitant of Mauritania. Webster 1913 also says: Μαῦρος; confer μαῦρος black, dark. Confer {Morris} a dance, {Morocco}. Morris dance is from the moreys daunce, “Moorish dance”. The Moroccan connection is doubtful, as Morocco is from Marrakech, itself from the Berber murt 'n akush, “the country of God”.
Noun
- A member of an ancient Berber people from Numidia.
- A member of an Islamic people of Arab or Berber origin ruling Spain and parts of North Africa from the 8th to the 15th centuries.
- A Muslim or a person from the Middle East or Africa.
- A person of mixed Arab and Berber ancestry inhabiting the Mediterranean coastline of northwest Africa.
- A person of an ethnic group speaking the Hassaniya language, mainly inhabiting Western Sahara, Mauritania, and parts of neighbouring countries (Morocco, Mali, Senegal etc.).