mushroom

== English == === Etymology === From Middle English muscheron, musseron, from Anglo-Norman musherum, moscheron, from Old French moisseron, of obscure origin: probably derived from Old French mosse, moise ("moss"; whence also French mousse), as the use first applied to a type of fungus which grows in moss, from Frankish *mosu (“moss”) or Old Dutch *mosa (“moss”), akin to Old High German mosa (“moor, swamp”), Old High German mos (“moss, bog”), Old High German mios (“moss, mire”), Old English mēos (“moss”), Old English mōs (“bog, marsh”), Old Norse mosi (“moss”), Old Norse myrr (“bog, mire”), from Proto-Germanic *musą, *musô, *miuziz (“mosses, bog”), from Proto-Indo-European *mews- (“mosses, mold, mildew”). Displaced native Old English swamm. More at mire. Alternatively, the Old French may be of pre-Roman origin. See Ancient Greek μύκης (múkēs, “mushroom”). Doublet of moss and mousse. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈmʌʃˌɹuːm/, /-ˌɹʊm/, /-ˌɹəm/ (Standard Southern British) IPA(key): /ˈmʌʃˌɹʉwm/, /-ˌɹɵm/, /-ˌɹəm/ (Northern England) IPA(key): /ˈmʊʃˌɹuːm/, /-ˌɹʊm/, /-ˌɹəm/ (Scotland) IPA(key): /ˈmʌʃˌɾʉm/, /-ˌɾəm/ (Wales) IPA(key): /ˈməʃˌɾuːm/, /-ˌɾʊm/, /-ˌɾəm/ (General American, Canada) IPA(key): /ˈmʌʃˌɹum/, /-ˌɹʊm/, /-ˌɹəm/ (General Australian, New Zealand) IPA(key): /ˈmɐʃˌɹʉːm/, /-ˌɹʊm/, /ˈ-ˌɹəm/ Hyphenation: mush‧room Rhymes: -ʌʃɹuːm, -ʌʃɹʊm === Noun === mushroom (plural mushrooms) Any of the fleshy fruiting bodies of fungi typically produced above ground on soil or on their food sources (such as decaying wood). Synonyms: shroom (clipping), mushrump (obsolete) Hypernyms: fruiting body < body Hyponym: toadstool A fungus producing such fruiting bodies. Hypernyms: fungus < organism Coordinate terms: mold, yeast Champignon or Agaricus bisporus, the mushroom species most commonly used in cooking. Any of the mushroom-shaped pegs in bar billiards. (architecture) A concrete column with a thickened portion at the top, used to support a slab. (obsolete, figurative) One who rises suddenly from a low condition in life; an upstart. (figurative) Something that grows very quickly or seems to appear suddenly. Ellipsis of mushroom cloud. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== → Japanese: マッシュルーム ==== Translations ==== ==== See also ==== ==== Further reading ==== “mushroom”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022. === Adjective === mushroom (not comparable) (attributive) Having characteristics like those of a mushroom, for example in shape or appearance, speed of growth, or texture. ==== Translations ==== === Verb === mushroom (third-person singular simple present mushrooms, present participle mushrooming, simple past and past participle mushroomed) (intransitive, figurative) To grow quickly to a large size or rapidly increase in scope or scale. (intransitive) To gather mushrooms. (intransitive) To form the shape of a mushroom. (ballistics, of a bullet) To form the shape of a mushroom when striking a soft target. ==== Translations ====