A moor can refer to different things depending on the context. Here are the different meanings of the term:
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Historical and cultural context: The term "Moor" was first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim populations of the Maghreb, al-Andalus (Iberian Peninsula), Sicily, and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a single, distinct, or self-defined people. The word "Moor" is presumably of Phoenician origin, and it can be traced back to the Phoenician term Mahurin, meaning "Westerners". During the context of the Crusades and the Reconquista, the term Moors included the derogatory suggestion of "infidels". Apart from these historic associations and context, Moor and Moorish designate a specific ethnic group speaking Hassaniya Arabic. They inhabit Mauritania and parts of Algeria, Western Sahara, Tunisia, Morocco, Niger, and Mali. Moorish architecture is the articulated Islamic architecture of northern Africa and parts of Spain and Portugal, where the Moors were dominant between 711 and 1492.
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Geographical context: In British English, a moor is an expanse of open rolling infertile land. It can also refer to a boggy area, especially one that is peaty and dominated by grasses and sedges.
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Literary context: In literature, the term "Moor" has been used to describe alternatively the reign of Muslims in Spain, Europeans of African descent, and others for centuries. By then, the idea of Moors had spread across Western Europe. "Moor" came to mean anyone who was Muslim or had dark skin; occasionally, Europeans would distinguish between "blackamoors" and "white Moors". One of the most famous mentions of Moors is in Shakespeares play The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice. Its titular character is a Moor who serves as a general in the Venetian army.
In summary, the term "moor" can refer to a historical and cultural context, a geographical context, or a literary context.
