Moulder

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /ˈməʊldə/

Definitions

1. A person who shapes or forms objects by pressing materials into molds ; to shape or form an object by using a mold or cast
2. Someone skilled in creating molds to produce specific shapes or forms ; the act of giving shape to a material through molding techniques
3. An individual who constructs or produces shapes by molding substances ; the process of shaping or forming something by using a mold

Etymology: The verb "moulder" is a blend of two unrelated stories. The first, and the one that gives it its sense of decay, starts with "mould" meaning loose, crumbly earth. Old English "molde" referred to soil, and medieval writers extended the idea to the earth from which God made man and into which the body returns after death. From there, "moulder" came to mean crumbling into that earth, to rot or fall apart into dust. The second story runs through baking and shaping. Middle English "molden" meant to knead or shape bread and other materials, and it grew from "mold," a pattern or model for making something, borrowed from Old French and ultimately from Latin "modulus," a small measure. That sense of shaping in a mould is the root of the modern meaning, to form something by pressing it into a mould. Because "moulder" meaning to crumble and "mould" meaning fungal growth sound alike, the two have often blended in use, with the decay sense of "moulder" likely reinforced by the fungus.

Synonyms: decay, decompose, rot

Antonyms: preserve, maintain