*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of moby

Etymology tree English mobile Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English moby From mobile + -y.

2 source sectionsBrief source recordWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
noun

A mobile phone.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Etymology tree English mobile Old English -iġ Middle English -y English -y English moby From mobile + -y.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "ety",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": ":af",
        "3": "mobile",
        "4": "-y<id:diminutive>",
        "text": "+",
        "tree": "1"
      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nEnglish mobile\nOld English -iġ\nMiddle English -y\nEnglish -y\nEnglish moby\n[Appendix:Glossary#inherited|Inherited]] from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"inline\", \"lang_name\" : \"Middle English\", \"term\" : \"-y\", \"lang\" : \"enm\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"Inherited from\", \"keyword\" : \"inherited\" } ], \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"-y\", \"lang\" : \"en\" } ], \"keyword_label\" : \"From\", \"is_group\" : true, \"keyword\" : \"affix\" } ], \"lang_name\" : \"English\", \"term\" : \"moby\", \"status\" : \"ok\", \"lang\" : \"en\" }\" data-lang=\"en\" data-title=\"moby\">\nFrom mobile + -y."
    },
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      },
      "expansion": "Etymology tree\nEnglish mobile\nProto-Germanic *-j-, *-ij-\nProto-West Germanic *-i, *-ī\nOld English -iġ\nMiddle English -y\nEnglish -y\nEnglish moby\nFrom mobile + -y."
    }
  ],
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      "mobile#English"
    ],
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      "-iġ",
      "-ig#Old_English:_diminutive"
    ],
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    ],
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  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "A mobile phone."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK",
        "slang"
      ],
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Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
adj

Sick; unwell.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Rhyming slang: Moby-Dick and sick.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    ],
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  "references": [],
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  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "adj",
      "glosses": [
        "Sick; unwell."
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Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for moby →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bW9ieQ