mood

mood

mood¹ [mo͞od]

n.

[ME < OE mod, mind, soul, courage, akin to Ger mut, mental disposition, spirit, courage < IE base * me-, to strive strongly, be energetic > L mos, custom, customary behavior]

1. a particular state of mind or feeling; humor, or temper

2. a predominant or pervading feeling, spirit, or tone

3. [pl.] fits of morose, sullen, or uncertain temper

4. Obs. anger

SYN.- MOOD¹ is the broadest of these terms referring to a temporary state of mind and emphasizes the constraining or pervading quality of the feeling [she's in a merry mood]; HUMOR emphasizes the variability or capriciousness of the mood [he wept and laughed as his humor moved him ]; TEMPER, in this comparison, applies to a mood characterized by a single, strong emotion, esp. that of anger [my, he's in a nasty temper!]; VEIN stresses the transient nature of the mood [if I may speak in a serious vein for a moment ]

mood² [mo͞od]

n.

[< MODE, altered after MOOD¹]

1. Gram.

a) a characteristic of verbs that involves the speaker's attitude toward the action expressed, indicating whether this is regarded as a fact (indicative mood), as a matter of supposition, desire, possibility, etc. ( subjunctive mood), or as a command ( imperative mood); also, an analytic category based on this characteristic (mood is shown by inflection, as in Latin, or analytically with auxiliaries, as English may, might, should, or by both)

b) any of the forms a verb takes to indicate this characteristic

2. Logic any of the various forms of valid syllogisms, as determined by the quantity and quality of their constituent propositions