mural

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French mural, from Latin muralis, from murus (“wall”).

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmjʊɹəl/, /ˈmjɝəl/

  • Audio (US):

    (file)

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmjʊəɹəl/
• (Scotland, Northern Ireland) IPA^(key): /ˈmjʉːɹəl/
• (Ireland) IPA^(key): /ˈmjuːɹəl/
• Rhymes: -ʊəɹəl

Noun

mural (plural murals)

1. A large painting, usually drawn on a wall.

Translations

painting on wall

Afrikaans: muurskildery, muurskildering Armenian: որմնանկար (hy) (ormnankar) Bulgarian: стенопис (bg) m (stenopis) Catalan: mural (ca) m Chinese: Mandarin: 壁畫 / 壁画 (zh) (bìhuà) Danish: vægmaleri n Dutch: muurschildering (nl) f Esperanto: murpentraĵo Finnish: seinämaalaus (fi), muraali (fi), muraalimaalaus French: peinture murale German: Wandgemälde (de) n, Mural n Greek: τοιχογραφία (el) f (toichografía) Hungarian: falfestmény (hu) Icelandic: veggskreyting f Ido: muralo Italian: murales (it) m Japanese: 壁画 (ja) (hekiga) Norwegian: Bokmål: veggmaleri n Nynorsk: veggmåleri n Polish: mural (pl) m Russian: стенна́я ро́спись f (stennája róspisʹ) Spanish: mural (es)

Adjective

mural (not comparable)

1. Of or relating to a wall; on, or in, or against a wall.

   a mural quadrant

   • 1667, John Milton, “Book VI”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC, lines 878–879:

     Disburd’nd Heav’n rejoic’d, and soon repaird / Her mural breach, returning whence it rowld.

   • 1669, John Evelyn, “Kalendarium Hortense: OrThe Gard’ners Almanac; […] [February.]”, in Sylva, or A Discourse of Forest-trees and the Propagation of Timber in His Majesties Dominions. […], 3rd edition, London: […] Jo[hn] Martyn, and Ja[mes] Allestry, printers to the Royal Society, →OCLC, page 10:

     [Y]et in the Nectarine and like delicate Mural-fruit, the later your Pruning, the better, [...]

2. Resembling a wall; perpendicular or steep.

   a mural precipice

   • 1852, Herman Melville, Pierre; or The Ambiguities:

     Soon the swift horses drew this fair god and goddess nigh the wooded hills, whose distant blue, now changed into a variously-shaded green, stood before them like old Babylonian walls, overgrown with verdure; while here and there, at regular intervals, the scattered peaks seemed mural towers; […]

Derived terms

• mural circle
• mural crown

Verb

mural (third-person singular simple present murals, present participle (UK) muralling or (US) muraling, simple past and past participle (UK) muralled or (US) muraled)

1. To create a mural.
   • 1987, Cahners Publishing Company, Restaurants & Institutions, Volume 97, Issues 5-7

     Today savvy operators and designers are stenciling, streaking, stippling, spattering, sponging, mirroring, muraling and marbleizing their way to wonderful walls.

   • 2014, Whittaker Chambers, Witness‎:

     Its walls were devoutly muraled by artists from the John Reed Club, a Communist-controlled cultural organization.

Anagrams

• larum, rumal