mound1
- a natural elevation of earth; a hillock or knoll.
- an artificial elevation of earth, as for a defense work or a dam or barrier; an embankment.
- a heap or raised mass: a mound of papers; a mound of hay.
- Baseball. the slightly raised ground from which the pitcher delivers the ball.See also rubber1(def 14).
- an elevation formed of earth, sand, stones, etc., especially over a grave or ruins.
- a tumulus or other raised work of earth dating from a prehistoric or long-past period.
- to form into a mound; heap up.
- to furnish with a mound of earth, as for a defense.
Origin of mound1
mound2
- a globe topped with a cross that symbolizes power and constitutes part of the regalia of an English sovereign.
Origin of mound2
Examples from the Web for mound
Contemporary Examples
Scans of many of these have been amassed by Vieira on his Facebook page, Stone Builders, Mound Builders and the Giants of Ancient.
Yezidis play a sort of basketball game here, balling cloth up and tossing it onto the top of the mound.
Here Luqman also pointed out a curious structure, a mound rising on the side of the wall in front of all the urns.
Salama al Sersawi leans on a bench, waiting to get his mound of matted hair reined in.
The salmon is presented atop a mound of sautéed vegetables: mushrooms, peppers, squash, onions, leafy greens, and herbs.
Historical Examples
But when this mound was built there were towns here, busy and crowded.
The Trail BookMary Austin
It did not need Mali-ya-bwana's whispered "faru" (rhinoceros) to identify the mound.
The Leopard WomanStewart Edward White
The first mound that I encountered belonged to a goblin who was splashing in his tub.
American NotesRudyard Kipling
To cover the dead with a mound of earth was a custom common to all nations.
English VillagesP. H. Ditchfield
Over every height, every mound, one might be lying—a trap for my destruction.
Wilfrid CumbermedeGeorge MacDonald
mound1
- a raised mass of earth, debris, etc
- any heap or pilea mound of washing
- a small natural hill
- archaeol another word for barrow 2
- an artificial ridge of earth, stone, etc, as used for defence
- (often foll by up) to gather into a mound; heap
- (tr) to cover or surround with a moundto mound a grave
Word Origin
mound2
- heraldry a rare word for orb (def. 1)
Word Origin
Word Origin and History for mound
n.
1550s, "hedge, fence," also "embankment, dam" (a sense probably influenced by mount (n.)). The relationship between the noun and the verb is uncertain. Commonly supposed to be from Old English mund "hand, protection, guardianship" (cognate with Latin manus), but this is not certain (OED discounts it on grounds of sense). Perhaps a confusion of the native word and Middle Dutch mond "protection," used in military sense for fortifications of various types, including earthworks. From 1726 as "artificial elevation" (as over a grave); 1810 as "natural low elevation." As the place where the pitcher stands on a baseball field, from 1912.
v.
1510s, "to enclose with a fence;" c.1600 as "to enclose with an embankment;" see mound (n.). From 1859 as "to heap up." Related: Mounded; mounding.