Arguably from Middle Low German sūrmūlen. Arguably past participle of verb surmula. In folk etymology interpreted as sur (“sour”) + mulen (“cloudy; overcast”), for example in the 1749 dictionary by Olof Lind. Compare Danish surmule. See also Dutch zuurmuil, archaic German Sauermaul, English sourpuss.
surmulen (comparative surmulnare, superlative surmulnast)
| Inflection of surmulen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Indefinite | Positive | Comparative | Superlative2 |
| Common singular | surmulen | — | — |
| Neuter singular | surmulet | — | — |
| Plural | surmulna | — | — |
| Masculine plural3 | surmulne | — | — |
| Definite | Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
| Masculine singular1 | surmulne | — | — |
| All | surmulna | — | — |
| 1) Only used, optionally, to refer to things whose natural gender is masculine. 2) The indefinite superlative forms are only used in the predicative. 3) Dated or archaic | |||