moue

Borrowed from French moue, from Old French moe (“grimace”), from Frankish *mauwa (“pout, protruding lip”). Doublet of mow ("grimace").

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /muː/

  • Audio (Southern England):

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• Rhymes: -uː
• Homophone: moo

moue (plural moues)

1. A pout, especially as expressing mock-annoyance or flirtatiousness. [from 19th c.]
   • 1848 November – 1850 December, William Makepeace Thackeray, chapter 23, in The History of Pendennis. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1849–1850, →OCLC:

     [S]he looked at her face and made a moue in the glass; and never stopped for Laura’s answer to the questions which she had put.

   • 1913, Jack London, chapter VI, in The Valley of the Moon, Book I:

     She glanced aside to the rim of the looking-glass where his photograph was wedged, shuddered, and made a moue of distaste.

   • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter VIII:

     She made what I believe, though I wouldn't swear to it, is called a moue. Putting the lips together and shoving them out, if you know what I mean. The impression I got was that she was disappointed in Bertram, having expected better things […] .

   • 2011 February 2, Hadley Freeman, “Should Michelle Obama and Kate Middleton be patriotic about designers?”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     Why do you wear European clothes?" fumed Oscar de la Renta with a moue of disapproval and stamp of his bejewelled foot (probably).

Often used in the phrase “make a moue”, influenced by French faire la moue (“to pout”).

• “moue”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.

• meou

moue

1. plural of mou

Inherited from Middle French moue, from Old French moe (“grimace”), from Frankish *mauwa (“pout, protruding lip”). Akin to Middle Dutch mouwe (“protruding lip”).

• IPA^(key): /mu/
• Homophones: mou, moud, mouds, moues, mous, moût, moûts

moue f (plural moues)

1. pout, moue
   • 1999, Anna Gavalda, “Ambre”, in Je voudrais que quelqu'un m'attende quelque part, →ISBN:

     – Et mon cœur ? Elle m’a souri et s’est penchée au-dessus de la table. — Il n’est pas déglingué, ton cœur ? elle a répondu avec une petite moue qui doute.

     ‘What about my heart?’ She smiled at me and leant over the table. ‘Isn't your heart worn out?’ she replied, with a little doubtful pout.

• faire la moue

• “moue”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.