moorish

/ˈmɔːɹɪʃ/US/ˈmʊɹ.ɪʃ/

moorish adjective: of ground, soil etc: boggy, marshy.

Adjective (1)

moorish (comparative more moorish, superlative most moorish)

(archaic) Of ground, soil etc: boggy, marshy.
- Make heauen to frowne and euery fixed ſtarre
  To ſucke vp poiſon from the Mooriſh Fens,
  And poure it in this glorious Tyrants throat.c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
- [G]low-worms, fire-drakes, meteors, ignis fatuus […] with many such that appear in moorish grounds, about churchyards, moist valleys, or where battles have been fought […] ., I.iii.3
Resembling or characteristic of a moor; abounding in moorland.
- He recommended to me to plant a considerable part of a large moorish farm which I had purchased, and he made several calculations of the expence and profit: for he delighted in exercising his mind on the science of numbers.1791, James Boswell, Life of Johnson, Oxford, published 2008, page 880
- The Lent term had pulled me down, a week of modest enjoyment thereafter in town had finished the work; and I drank in the sharp moorish air like a thirsty man who has been forwandered among deserts.1899, John Buchan, No Man's Land

Moorish (comparative more Moorish, superlative most Moorish)

Of or pertaining to the Moors or their culture.
- I joy to see you wear around your neck the holy relic I bestowed on you; — but what Moorish charmlet is that you wear beside it?1829 May 2, [Walter Scott], Anne of Geierstein; or, The Maiden of the Mist. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] [Ballantyne and Company] for Cadell and Co., […]; London...
Of or pertaining to a style of Spanish and Portuguese architecture from the time of the Moors, characterized by the horseshoe arch and ornate, geometric decoration.
- Mar-a-Lago was quiet three days before Thanksgiving. Donald Trump’s Moorish palace seemed all but deserted late that morning, the seaside estate’s cavernous living room traversed intermittently by a junior staffer or silent aide.2024 December 12, Eric Cortellessa, “Donald Trump 2024 TIME Person of the Year”, in Time, archived from the original on 22 Dec 2024

From moor + -ish.

From Moor + -ish.

What does moorish mean?: Moorish means of ground, soil etc: boggy, marshy.
What part of speech is moorish?: Moorish is an adjective.
How do you pronounce moorish?: Moorish is pronounced /ˈmɔːɹɪʃ/ (UK).

Adapted from Wiktionary: moorish (page history and authors); Moorish (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Moorish.wav.

Cite this entry: “moorish.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/moorish. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.