Talk:molest

Latest comment: 9 years ago by Etym in topic Etymology

Legal edit

I believe the legal definition goes far beyond "to annoy intentionally". --Connel MacKenzie 18:04, 9 Mar 2005 (UTC)

  • Well, I don't know much about law. Ncik 9 Mar 2005

Etymology edit

What's currently listed:

  • From Middle English molesten
    • from Old French molester
      • from Latin molestare (“to trouble, annoy, molest”)
        • from molestus (“troublesome”)
          • from moles (“a burden, difficulty, labor, trouble”)

FreeDictionary mentions some alternatives/modifications other dictionaries have mentioned that may be worth discussing:

  • Old French molester, from Latin molestāre American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009.
  • from Latin molestāre to annoy, from molestus troublesome, from mōlēs mass) Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged © HarperCollins Publishers
  • Middle English < Latin molestāre to irk, derivative of molestus irksome; compare mōlēs mass, burden, trouble) Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010

Based on this I am wondering if an accent should be put over the A in molestare, because that currently only has entries for Italian and Spanish, not Latin.

moles has Latin but even in that entry there is an accent over the o, though not the e... Etym (talk) 23:00, 30 May 2014 (UTC)Reply

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