muddy

Etymology 1

The adjective is derived from Late Middle English muddi, moddy, muddy (“covered with or full of mud, muddy”), from mud, mudde (“mud; turbid water”) + -i (suffix forming adjectives). Mud, mudde is possibly borrowed from Middle Dutch modde, and/or Middle Low German modde, mudde, from Proto-Germanic *mud-, *mudra- (“mud”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *mū-, *mew- (“moist”). The English word is analysable as mud + -y (suffix meaning ‘having the quality of’ forming adjectives). Doublet of muddle. The verb is derived from the adjective. cognates * Middle Low German moddich, muddich (German Low German muddig (“muddy; mouldy”))

adj

1. Covered or splashed with, or full of, mud (“wet soil”).
   He slogged across the muddy field.
   Take off your muddy boots before you come inside.
   I came out of the army like dragging myself muddy out of a swamp. I wandered for a long time before going home to a remembered place I did not love. 19 September 1952, John Steinbeck, chapter 15, in East of Eden, Chicago, Ill.: Sears Readers Club, published 2002, section 3, page 170
   When faced with a rockier or muddier section, look ahead for the easiest way across. This might involve hopping from one rock to another, or looking for flat sections or patches of vegetation that might be grippier. 2021, Claire Maxted, “Quick Start”, in The Ultimate Trail Running Handbook: Get Fit, Confident and Skilled Up to Go from 5K to 50K, London: Bloomsbury Sport, Bloomsbury Publishing, page 25
2. Of water or some other liquid: containing mud or (by extension) other sediment in suspension; cloudy, turbid.
   The previously limpid water was now muddy as a result of the struggle between the alligator and the wild boar.
3. Of or relating to mud; also, having the characteristics of mud, especially in colour or taste.
4. (euphemistic) Soiled with feces.
5. (archaic) Of an animal or plant: growing or living in mud.
6. (figurative)
   1. Dirty, filthy.
   2. Not clear.
      1. Of a colour: not bright: dirty, dull.
      2. Of an image: blurry or dim.
      3. Of light: cloudy, opaque.
      4. Of sound (especially during performance, recording, or playback): indistinct, muffled.
         The television picture is decent, but the sound is muddy.
      5. Of speech, thinking, or writing: ambiguous or vague; or confused, incoherent, or mixed-up; also, poorly expressed.
      6. (chiefly literary, poetic) Of the air: not fresh; impure, polluted.
   3. Originally, morally or religiously wrong; corrupt, sinful; now, morally or legally dubious; shady, sketchy.
   4. (archaic) Of a person or their facial expression: angry, sad, or sulky.
   5. (obsolete) Slightly drunk; tipsy.

verb

1. (transitive)
   1. To cover or splash (someone or something) with mud.
      If you muddy your shoes don’t wear them inside.
   2. To make (water or some other liquid) cloudy or turbid by stirring up mud or other sediment.
   3. (figurative)
      1. To confuse (a person or their thinking); to muddle.
         The discussion only muddied their understanding of the subject.
      2. To damage (a person or their reputation); to sully, to tarnish.
      3. To make (a colour) dirty, dull, or muted.
         The addition of the second batch of paint muddied the bright colours to a dull and washed look.
      4. To make (a matter, etc.) more complicated or unclear; to make a mess of (something).
         As the humans establish tentative bonds with their evolutionary cousins, the inter-species waters start to muddy. 1 July 2014, Steve Rose, “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: a primate scream – first look review”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 2022-11-27
         It may have been effective at conveying the confusion of the situation, but it didn't make for terribly thrilling scenes. The blurry camerawork (quite literally at times) and rapid-fire editing meant that exchanges of blows that should have been viscerally thrilling were often muddied, good for capturing the mood but not much fun to watch. 28 April 2019, Alex McLevy, “Game Of Thrones Suffers the Fog of War in the Battle against the Dead (Newbies)”, in The A.V. Club, archived from the original on 2021-05-31
      5. To make (something) impure; to contaminate.
      6. (obsolete) To cause or permit (someone or something) to become stuck in mud; to mire.
2. (intransitive)
   1. (also figurative) Sometimes followed by up: to become covered or splashed with mud; to become dirty or soiled.
   2. Of water or some other liquid: to become cloudy or turbid.
   3. (figurative) To become contaminated or impure.

Etymology 2

(Scylla serrata) is informally called a muddy in Australia, especially in Queensland.]] From mud (crab) + -y (diminutive suffix).

noun

1. (Australia (chiefly Queensland), informal) The edible mud crab or mangrove crab (Scylla serrata).