mound1

[mound] /maʊnd/
noun
1.
a natural elevation of earth; a hillock or knoll.
2.
an artificial elevation of earth, as for a defense work or a dam or barrier; an embankment.
3.
a heap or raised mass:
a mound of papers; a mound of hay.
4.
Baseball. the slightly raised ground from which the pitcher delivers the ball.
Compare rubber (def 13).
5.
an elevation formed of earth, sand, stones, etc., especially over a grave or ruins.
6.
a tumulus or other raised work of earth dating from a prehistoric or long-past period.
verb (used with object)
7.
to form into a mound; heap up.
8.
to furnish with a mound of earth, as for a defense.
Origin
1505-15; earlier: hedge or fence used as a boundary or protection, (v.) to enclose with a fence; compare Old English mund hand, hence protection, protector; cognate with Old Norse mund, Middle Dutch mond protection
Related forms
unmounded, adjective

mound2

[mound] /maʊnd/
noun
1.
a globe topped with a cross that symbolizes power and constitutes part of the regalia of an English sovereign.
Origin
1250-1300; Middle English: world < Old French monde < Latin mundus world
Examples from the web for mound
  • He collapsed in a heap and remained face down on the mound for several minutes.
  • But the main attraction is the enormous central mound.
  • The sheer number of business books means that the diamonds shine rarely in a mound of dross.
  • They offered him a treat-insects from a fresh termite mound.
  • The lion approached the herd of gazelles slowly while hidden by a large termite mound.
  • Army uniforms-appear on a mound overlooking a bamboo-hut village.
  • She sits on a low, pink plastic stool, behind a mound of unsorted goods which she is gradually dividing into smaller piles.
  • Ferry scoops up a mound of compost containing beneficial earthworms.
  • Nearby, bulldozers plow acres of sod into an ever-rising mound.
  • It will start to dry out and thicken into a mound of dough as you continue to stir.
British Dictionary definitions for mound

mound1

/maʊnd/
noun
1.
a raised mass of earth, debris, etc
2.
any heap or pile: a mound of washing
3.
a small natural hill
4.
(archaeol) another word for barrow2
5.
an artificial ridge of earth, stone, etc, as used for defence
verb
6.
(often foll by up) to gather into a mound; heap
7.
(transitive) to cover or surround with a mound: to mound a grave
related
adjective tumular
Word Origin
C16: earthwork, perhaps from Old English mund hand, hence defence: compare Middle Dutch mond protection

mound2

/maʊnd/
noun
1.
(heraldry) a rare word for orb (sense 1)
Word Origin
C13 (meaning: world, C16: orb): from French monde, from Latin mundus world
Word Origin and History for mound
n.

1550s, "hedge, fence," also "embankment, dam" (a sense probably influenced by mount (n.)). The relationship between the noun and the verb is uncertain. Commonly supposed to be from Old English mund "hand, protection, guardianship" (cognate with Latin manus), but this is not certain (OED discounts it on grounds of sense). Perhaps a confusion of the native word and Middle Dutch mond "protection," used in military sense for fortifications of various types, including earthworks. From 1726 as "artificial elevation" (as over a grave); 1810 as "natural low elevation." As the place where the pitcher stands on a baseball field, from 1912.

v.

1510s, "to enclose with a fence;" c.1600 as "to enclose with an embankment;" see mound (n.). From 1859 as "to heap up." Related: Mounded; mounding.