English Explanatory Dictionary

moonshine

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. The light of the moon.
  2. The light reflected off Earth's Moon.
  3. The light reflected off a moon.
  4. High-proof alcohol (especially whiskey) that is often, but not always, produced illegally.
  5. Smuggled spirits, often with a specific sense; (Kent, Sussex) white brandy; (Yorkshire) gin.
  6. Nonsense.
  7. A branch of pure mathematics relating the Monster group to an invariant of elliptic functions.
  8. A spiced dish of eggs and fried onions.
  9. A month.
verb
  1. To make homemade (especially, illicit) alcohol, especially distilled spirits.
  2. To make (an ingredient) into such a drink.

Pronunciation

/ˈmuːnʃaɪn/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-moonshine.wav

Word forms

moonshine moonshines moon-shine moonshining moonshined

Etymology

From Middle English mone schyne, mone-schyne, moone shone; equivalent to moon + shine. Illegally distilled liquor is so named because its manufacture may be conducted without artificial light at night. The verb sense is a back-formation from moonshiner.

Synonyms

moonlight moon-light moon light moonbeam moon-beam moon beam bathtub gin bootleg coon dick corn liquor hooch mountain dew white lightning

Related words

Moonshine Moon-shine

Derived words

eggs in moonshine Mathieu moonshine monstrous moonshine moonshine pudding moonshiney moonshiny umbral moonshine
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