mora

i have a linguistic-technical question: i learned that the plural of
mora is 'mora' - that it is a native japanese word - when i was
learning japanese. you could say 'moras' because that would be normal
english (though i'd be more likely, contrarian that i am, to say meren
or something similarly irregular - anyone know the cases of earliest
Middle English?).

wikipedia indicates discussion as follows:

"Mora is a unit of sound used in phonology that determines stress in
some languages. Like many technical linguistics terms, the exact
definition of mora (plura moras or morae) is debated. The term, meaning
"delay," comes from Latin."

now i'm confused. i think this might be a mis-appropriation - what
might be termed a 'faux ami' or false cognate. can anyone corroborate
either the first use of MORA or the native japanese meaning thereof?

em'ly
********
EMILY0
http://homepage.mac.com/cafewrack

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