muda

See also: Appendix:Variations of "muda"

Languages (21)

English

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Asturian • Balinese • Brunei Malay • Catalan • Central Bikol • Estonian • Galician • Indonesian • Italian • Japanese • Javanese • Karelian • Ladin • Malay • Portuguese • Serbo-Croatian • Sicilian • Spanish • Swahili • Veps

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English

Etymology

From Japanese 無駄 (muda).

Noun

muda (uncountable)

1. (business) A form of waste, or deviation from optimal allocation of resources, that occurs when work is performed that does not add value for the customer.

   Coordinate terms: mura, muri

Anagrams

• Damu, Duma, Maud, duma, maud

Asturian

Verb

muda

1. inflection of mudar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Balinese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mu.də/
• Rhymes: -udə
• Hyphenation: mu‧da

Etymology 1

Inherited from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *muda (“young (of fruits); immature; light (of colors)”); reconstructed by Robert Blust (compare Tongan mula (“(of yam) lower end while still soft and juicy (as it is while the yam is still immature)”); also compare Amis molaʔ (“immature, unlearned, uneducated, childish, without experience”) from Proto-Austronesian *mudaq).

Adjective

muda (Balinese script ᬫᬸᬤ)

1. young

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Old Javanese mūḍha (“silly, stupid, foolish, unwise, ignorant”), from Sanskrit मूढ (mūḍha).

Adjective

muda (Balinese script ᬫᬹᬥ)

1. (alus sor) stupid

Further reading

• “muda”, in Balinese–Indonesian Dictionary [Kamus Bahasa Bali–Indonesia] (in Balinese), Denpasar, Indonesia: The Linguistic Center of Bali Province [Balai Bahasa Provinsi Bali].

Brunei Malay

Etymology

From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *muda.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /muda/
• Hyphenation: mu‧da

Adjective

muda

1. young (age of a living being)
2. light (shade of colour)

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “age”): tua (“old”) (living being)
• (antonym(s) of “colour”): tua (“dark”)

Coordinate terms

• (age): baru (“new”) (non-living being)

References

• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*muda”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Northern, Balearic, Central) [ˈmu.ðə]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia, Northwestern) [ˈmu.ða]

Etymology 1

Deverbal from mudar.

Noun

muda f (plural mudes)

1. change, changing
2. change of clothes
3. moult, moulting

   Synonym: pèl-muda

Etymology 2

Verb

muda

1. inflection of mudar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

muda

1. feminine singular of mut

Further reading

• “muda”, in Diccionari de la llengua catalana [Dictionary of the Catalan Language] (in Catalan), second edition, Institute of Catalan Studies [Catalan: Institut d'Estudis Catalans], April 2007

Central Bikol

Etymology

Compare Tagalog mura.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmuda/ [ˈmu.d̪a]
• Hyphenation: mu‧da

Noun

múda (Basahan spelling ᜋᜓᜇ)

1. swear word; curse word

   Synonym: raway

Derived terms

• magmuda
• mudahon

Estonian

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *muta. Cognate with Finnish muta.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmud̥ɑ/, [ˈmud̥ɑ]
• Rhymes: -udɑ
• Hyphenation: mu‧da

Noun

muda (genitive muda, partitive muda)

1. silt (fine earth deposited by water)
2. mud (mixture of soil and water)

   Synonyms: pori, sopp

Declension

Declension of muda (ÕS type 17/elu, no gradation)
		singular	plural
nominative		muda	mudad
accusative	nom.
	gen.	muda
genitive			mudade
partitive		muda	mudasid
illative		mutta mudasse	mudadesse
inessive		mudas	mudades
elative		mudast	mudadest
allative		mudale	mudadele
adessive		mudal	mudadel
ablative		mudalt	mudadelt
translative		mudaks	mudadeks
terminative		mudani	mudadeni
essive		mudana	mudadena
abessive		mudata	mudadeta
comitative		mudaga	mudadega

Derived terms

adjectives

• mudajas
• mudane

phrases

• mudaga loopima
• mutta tallama
• mutta tampima
• nagu muda

Compounds

• aktiivmuda
• diatomeemuda
• heinmuda
• jõemuda
• järvemuda
• jääkmuda
• kõdumuda
• lubimuda
• meremuda
• põhjamuda
• radiolaarmuda
• ravimuda
• ränimuda
• savimuda
• settemuda
• tervisemuda
• tervismuda
• tiigimuda
• turbamuda

• mudaauk
• mudaelustik
• mudahüpik
• mudajalgpall
• mudajoodik
• mudajärv
• mudakala
• mudakarva
• mudakiht
• mudakoger
• mudakonn
• mudakoon
• mudakoorik
• mudakord
• mudakukk
• mudakurvits
• mudakäkk
• mudaköök
• mudakümblus
• mudalaisk
• mudalaviin
• mudalehk
• mudaliiga
• mudaloik
• mudamaadlus
• mudamaim
• mudamähis
• mudamülgas
• mudanepp
• mudapeenar
• mudapritsmed
• mudaproov
• mudaprotseduur
• mudapump
• mudapõhi
• mudapõhjaline
• mudaravi
• mudaravila
• mudasete
• mudasonn
• mudasoo
• mudatarn
• mudatigu
• mudatilder
• mudaujur
• mudavann
• mudavool
• mudavulkaan
• mudaväli
• mudaälves

References

• muda in Sõnaveeb (Eesti Keele Instituut)
• “muda”, in [EKSS] Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat [Descriptive Dictionary of the Estonian Language] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2009
• “muda”, in [SP] Eesti keele sõnapered [Estonian Word Families] (in Estonian) (online version, continuously updated), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2012–

Galician

Verb

muda

1. inflection of mudar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Indonesian

Alternative forms

• moeda (1901–1947)

Etymology

Inherited from Malay muda, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *muda.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈmuda/ [ˈmu.da]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -uda
• Syllabification: mu‧da

Adjective

muda (comparative lebih muda, superlative paling muda or termuda, equative semuda)

1. young

   Synonym: belia

2. light (colour)

   hijau muda

   light green

3. unripe

Derived terms

• bermuda
• bermuda-muda
• kemuda-mudaan
• kemudaan
• kepemudaan
• mempermuda
• memudakan
• pemuda
• semuda
• termuda

• muda belia
• muda bestari
• muda hati
• muda lela
• muda mentah
• muda mudi
• muda pikiran
• muda remaja

References

• Blust, Robert; Trussel, Stephen; et al. (2023) “*muda”, in the CLDF dataset from The Austronesian Comparative Dictionary (2010–), →DOI

Further reading

• “muda”, in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia [Great Dictionary of the Indonesian Language] (in Indonesian), Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmu.da/
• Rhymes: -uda
• Hyphenation: mù‧da

Etymology 1

Deverbal from mudare (“to moult”) +‎ -a.

Noun

muda f (plural mude)

1. moult (of a bird)

Related terms

• mudare
• muta

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

muda

1. inflection of mudare:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Japanese

Romanization

muda

1. Rōmaji transcription of むだ
2. Rōmaji transcription of ムダ

Javanese

Romanization

muda

1. romanization of ꦩꦸꦢ

Karelian

Alternative forms

• (Northern) muta

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *muta, from Proto-Uralic *muďa.

Noun

muda

1. (Southern) mud

Ladin

Verb

muda

1. inflection of muder:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. third-person plural present indicative
   3. second-person singular imperative

Malay

Etymology

• From Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *muda (“young (of fruits); immature; light (of colors)”); reconstructed by Robert Blust (compare Tongan mula (“(of yam) lower end while still soft and juicy (as it is while the yam is still immature)”); also compare Amis molaʔ (“immature, unlearned, uneducated, childish, without experience”) from Proto-Austronesian *mudaq).

• From Pali muddha (“foolish, bewildered”), from Sanskrit मुग्ध (mugdha, “foolish, bewildered, young”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /muda/
• Rhymes: -uda, -da, -a

Adjective

muda (Jawi spelling مودا, comparative lebih muda, superlative paling muda)

1. young

   Antonym: tua

   Orang muda ― Young person

2. light (colour)

   Synonym: terang

   Antonyms: tua, gelap, pekat

   Biru muda ― Light blue

3. unripe

   Antonyms: masak, tua

   Manggis muda ― Unripe mangosteen

Derived terms

• muda-muda
• pemuda
• semuda
• semuda-muda
• termuda

Descendants

• > Indonesian: muda (inherited)

Further reading

• "muda" in Pusat Rujukan Persuratan Melayu (PRPM) [Malay Literary Reference Centre (PRPM)] (in Malay), Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, 2017

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmu.dɐ/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmu.dɐ/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmu.da/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmu.dɐ/ [ˈmu.ðɐ]

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mu‧da

Etymology 1

From Latin mūtam, accusative feminine form of mūtus.

Adjective

muda

1. feminine singular of mudo

Noun

muda f (plural mudas)

1. female equivalent of mudo

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Galician-Portuguese muda, deverbal from mudar.

Noun

muda f (plural mudas)

1. seedling
2. (zoology, entomology) ecdysis, moult

   Synonym: ecdise

Etymology 3

Verb

muda

1. inflection of mudar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “muda”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “muda”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

muda (Cyrillic spelling муда)

1. inflection of múdo:
   1. genitive singular
   2. nominative/genitive/accusative/vocative plural

Sicilian

Adjective

muda f sg

1. feminine singular of mudu

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmuda/ [ˈmu.ð̞a]
• Rhymes: -uda
• Syllabification: mu‧da

Etymology 1

Deverbal from mudar. Cognate with English moult.

Noun

muda f (plural mudas)

1. a change (of clothes, especially underpants)

Etymology 2

Noun

muda f (plural mudas)

1. female equivalent of mudo (“mute”)

Adjective

muda

1. feminine singular of mudo

Etymology 3

Verb

muda

1. inflection of mudar:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Further reading

• “muda”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025

Swahili

Alternative forms

• mda

Etymology

Borrowed from Arabic مُدَّة (mudda).

Pronunciation

• (Unguja standard) IPA^(key): /ˈmu.ɗɑ/

• Audio (Kenya):

  (file)

Noun

muda class III (plural miuda class IV)

1. term, period (of time)

Veps

Etymology

From Proto-Finnic *muta.

Noun

muda

1. slurry, dredge

Inflection

Inflection of muda (inflection type 6/kuva)
nominative sing.	muda
genitive sing.	mudan
partitive sing.	mudad
partitive plur.	mudid
	singular	plural
nominative	muda	mudad
accusative	mudan	mudad
genitive	mudan	mudiden
partitive	mudad	mudid
essive-instructive	mudan	mudin
translative	mudaks	mudikš
inessive	mudas	mudiš
elative	mudaspäi	mudišpäi
illative	mudaha	mudihe
adessive	mudal	mudil
ablative	mudalpäi	mudilpäi
allative	mudale	mudile
abessive	mudata	mudita
comitative	mudanke	mudidenke
prolative	mudadme	mudidme
approximative I	mudanno	mudidenno
approximative II	mudannoks	mudidennoks
egressive	mudannopäi	mudidennopäi
terminative I	mudahasai	mudihesai
terminative II	mudalesai	mudilesai
terminative III	mudassai	—
additive I	mudahapäi	mudihepäi
additive II	mudalepäi	mudilepäi

References

• Zajceva, N. G.; Mullonen, M. I. (2007), “взвесь”, in Uz’ venä-vepsläine vajehnik / Novyj russko-vepsskij slovarʹ [New Russian–Veps Dictionary]‎^[2], Petrozavodsk: Periodika