Editing Mud (section)

{{Short description|Mixture of water and any combination of soil, silt, sand, and clay}}
{{Other uses}}
{{More citations needed|date=January 2022}}

[[File:2003-11-27 Northerner boots in mud.jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|A pair of muddy [[Wellington boot|Wellington boots]]]]
[[File:Gamo Mud Volcano 3.jpg|thumb|Gamo mud volcano in [[Tokamachi]], Japan]]
'''Mud''' ({{etymology|gml|mudde, mod(de)|thick mud}}, or [[Middle Dutch]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=mud {{!}} Etymology of mud by etymonline |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/mud#etymonline_v_19211 |access-date=2024-12-19 |website=www.etymonline.com |language=en}}</ref> is [[loam]], [[silt]] or [[clay]] mixed with [[water]]. Mud is usually formed after [[rain]]fall or near water sources. Ancient mud deposits hardened over [[geologic time scale|geological time]] to form [[sedimentary rock]] such as [[shale]] or [[mudstone]] (generally called [[lutite]]s). When geological deposits of mud are formed in [[estuaries]], the resultant layers are termed [[bay mud]]s. Mud has also been used for [[Century|centuries]] as a [[construction]] resource for mostly houses and also used as a binder. An [[Old English]] word for it was '''[[fen]]''', now in [[English dialects|most dialects]] referring to a type of [[wetland]].