Wiktionary

mole

See also: Appendix:Variations of "mole"

English edit

 
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Etymology 1 edit

 
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From Middle English mole, mool, from Old English māl (“a mole, spot, mark, blemish”), from Proto-West Germanic *mail, from Proto-Germanic *mailą (“spot, wrinkle”), from Proto-Indo-European *mel-, *melw- (“dark, dirty”), from Proto-Indo-European *mey-, *my- (“to soil, sully”).

Cognate with Scots mail (“spot, stain”), Saterland Frisian Moal (“scar”), German dialectal Meil (“spot, stain, blemish”), Gothic 𐌼𐌰𐌹𐌻 (mail, “spot, blemish”).

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

mole (plural moles)

  1. A naevus, a pigmented, slightly raised, and sometimes hairy spot on the skin.
Synonyms edit
Related terms edit
Translations edit

Etymology 2 edit

 
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From Middle English molle (“mole”), molde, mole, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *mulaz, *mulhaz (“mole, salamander”), from Proto-Indo-European *molg-, *molk- (“slug, salamander”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)melw- (“to grind, crush, beat”).

Cognate with North Frisian mull (“mole”), Saterland Frisian molle (“mole”), Dutch mol (“mole”), Low German Mol, Mul (“mole”), German Molch (“salamander, newt”), Old Russian смолжь (smolžʹ, “snail”), Czech mlž (“clam”).

Derivation as an abbreviation of Middle English molewarpe, a variation of moldewarpe, moldwerp (“mole”) in Middle English is unexplained and probably unlikely due to the simultaneous occurrence of both words. See mouldwarp.

Alternative forms edit

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

mole (plural moles)

 
a mole (animal)
 
a mole (excavator)
  1. Any of several small, burrowing insectivores of the family Talpidae; also any of southern African mammals in the family Chrysochloridae (golden moles) and any of several Australian mammals in the family Notoryctidae (marsupial moles), similar to but not closely related to Talpidae moles
  2. Any of the burrowing rodents also called mole-rats.
  3. (espionage) An internal spy, a person who involves himself or herself with an enemy organisation, especially an intelligence or governmental organisation, to determine and betray its secrets from within.
  4. A kind of self-propelled excavator used to form underground drains, or to clear underground pipelines
  5. A type of underground drain used in farm fields, in which a mole plow creates an unlined channel through clay subsoil.
Synonyms edit
Derived terms edit
terms derived from mole (animal etc.)

* Entry has derived terms

Translations edit
mole-rat — see mole-rat

Etymology 3 edit

From moll (from Moll, an archaic nickname for Mary), influenced by the spelling of the word mole (“an internal spy”), and due to /mɒl/ and /məʊl/ merging as [ˈmɔʊɫ] in the Australian accent.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

mole (plural moles)

  1. (slang, derogatory) A moll, a bitch, a slut.
Synonyms edit
Translations edit

Etymology 4 edit

 
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From French môle or Latin mōles (“mass, heap, rock”).

 
the remains of a mole at Dunkirk

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

mole (plural moles)

  1. (nautical) A massive structure, usually of stone, used as a pier, breakwater or junction between places separated by water.[1]
    • 1847, George A. Fisk, A pastor's memorial of the holy land:
      [Alexander the Great] then conceived the stupendous idea of constructing a mole, which should at once connect [Tyre] with the main land; and this was actually accomplished by driving piles and pouring in incalculable quantities of soil and fragments of rock; and it is generally believed, partly on the authority of ancient authors, that the whole ruins of Old Tyre were absorbed in this vast enterprize, and buried in the depths of the sea [...]
    • 1851, Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chapter 1:
      Its extreme downtown is the battery, where that noble mole is washed by waves, and cooled by breezes, which a few hours previous were out of sight of land.
    • 1983, Archibald Lyall, Arthur Norman Brangham, The companion guide to the south of France:
      [about Saint-Tropez] Yachts and fishing boats fill the little square of water, which is surrounded on two sides by quays, on the third by a small ship-repairing yard and on the fourth by the mole where the fishing boats moor and the nets are spread out to dry.
  2. (rare) A haven or harbour, protected with such a breakwater.
  3. (historical) An Ancient Roman mausoleum.
Translations edit

Etymology 5 edit

 
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Calqued from German Mol; spelled as if it had come directly from molecule or Latin moles (the ultimate source of Mol and molecule in any event).

Alternative forms edit

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

mole (plural moles)

  1. (chemistry, physics) In the International System of Units, the base unit of amount of substance; the amount of substance of a system which contains exactly 6.02214076×1023 elementary entities (atoms, ions, molecules, etc.). Symbol: mol. The number of atoms is known as Avogadro’s number. [from 1897]
Hyponyms edit
Derived terms edit
Translations edit

Etymology 6 edit

 
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From French môle f, from Latin mola (“millstone”), because it is a hardened mass.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

mole (plural moles)

  1. A hemorrhagic mass of tissue in the uterus caused by a dead ovum.
Translations edit

Etymology 7 edit

 
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From Spanish mole, from Classical Nahuatl mōlli (“sauce; stew; something ground”).

Alternative forms edit

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

mole (countable and uncountable, plural moles)

 
chicken in a red mole sauce, with rice on the side
  1. One of several spicy sauces typical of the cuisine of Mexico and neighboring Central America, especially a sauce which contains chocolate and which is used in cooking main dishes, not desserts.[2]
Translations edit

References edit

  1. ^ mole (accessed: March 30, 2007)
  2. ^ mole (accessed: March 30, 2007)

Anagrams edit

Central Franconian edit

Etymology edit

From Old High German mālōn, mālēn, denominative of māl (“spot, stain”), from Proto-West Germanic *mālijan, from Proto-Germanic *mēlijaną, from Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- (“dark color”).

Pronunciation edit

Verb edit

mole (third-person singular present molt, past participle jemolt)

  1. (most dialects) to paint, draw, depict

See also edit

Chavacano edit

Etymology edit

Inherited from Spanish moler (“to grind”).

Verb edit

molé

  1. to mill; to grind

Danish edit

 
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Etymology edit

From French môle.

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /moːlə/, [ˈmoːlə]

Noun edit

mole c (singular definite molen, plural indefinite moler)

  1. mole, breakwater
  2. pier, jetty

Inflection edit

Declension of mole
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative mole molen moler molerne
genitive moles molens molers molernes

Esperanto edit

Pronunciation edit

Adverb edit

mole

  1. softly

Antonyms edit

Related terms edit

French edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from German Mol.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

mole f (plural moles)

  1. (chemistry, physics) mole

Further reading edit

Galician edit

Verb edit

mole

  1. third-person singular present indicative of mulir

Italian edit

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈmɔ.le/
  • Rhymes: -ɔle
  • Hyphenation: mò‧le

Etymology 1 edit

Borrowed from German Mol.

Noun edit

mole f (plural moli)

  1. (chemistry, physics) mole
    Synonym: grammo-molecola
Derived terms edit

Etymology 2 edit

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun edit

mole

  1. plural of mola

Anagrams edit

Latin edit

Etymology 1 edit

Verb edit

mole

  1. second-person singular present active imperative of molō

Etymology 2 edit

Noun edit

mōle f

  1. ablative singular of mōlēs

Lower Sorbian edit

Noun edit

mole

  1. Superseded spelling of móle.

Middle English edit

Noun edit

mole

  1. Alternative form of molle (“mole”)

Polish edit

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

mole m animal

  1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of mól

Noun edit

mole m inan

  1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of mol

Portuguese edit

Pronunciation edit

 

  • Hyphenation: mo‧le

Etymology 1 edit

From Old Galician-Portuguese mole, from Latin mollis, earlier *molduis, from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥dus (“soft, weak”).

Adjective edit

mole m or f (plural moles, comparable, comparative mais mole, superlative o mais mole or molíssimo, diminutive molinho, augmentative molão)

  1. soft
  2. (informal) easy
Derived terms edit
Related terms edit

Etymology 2 edit

Learned borrowing from Latin mōlēs. Doublet of mó, an inheritance.

Noun edit

mole f (plural moles)

  1. mass

Etymology 3 edit

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun edit

mole f (plural moles)

  1. Portugal form of mol (unit of amount)

Etymology 4 edit

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun edit

mole m (plural moles)

  1. Alternative form of molhe (breakwater)

Further reading edit

Serbo-Croatian edit

Verb edit

mole (Cyrillic spelling моле)

  1. third-person plural present of moliti

Spanish edit

 
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Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈmole/ [ˈmo.le]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -ole
  • Syllabification: mo‧le

Etymology 1 edit

Semi-learned borrowing from Latin mollis. Doublet of muelle.

Adjective edit

mole m or f (masculine and feminine plural moles)

  1. soft, mild
    Synonym: muelle

Etymology 2 edit

Borrowed from Latin mōlēs.

Noun edit

mole f (plural moles)

  1. hunk, chunk, slab (thing of large size or quantity)
    • 2021 January 2, Claudi Pérez, “Salvador Illa: el triunfo de la sobriedad”, in El País‎[1]:
      En la sede del Ministerio de Sanidad, una mole racionalista con forma de cubo, María Luisa Carcedo procede al traspaso de carteras.
      At the headquarters of the Ministry of Health, a rationalist cube-shaped hunk, María Luisa Carcedo proceeds to the transfer of portfolios.
  2. massiveness

Etymology 3 edit

 
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Borrowed from Classical Nahuatl mōlli (“sauce, something ground”).

Noun edit

mole m (plural moles)

  1. (Mexico) mole, a type of stew
Derived terms edit

Etymology 4 edit

Verb edit

mole

  1. inflection of molar:
    1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
    2. third-person singular imperative

Further reading edit

Zayse-Zergulla edit

Noun edit

mole

  1. fish

References edit

  • Takács, Gábor (2007) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian, volume 3, Leiden: Brill, →ISBN, page 397, →ISBN: “Zayse mo'le”
  • Linda Jordan, A study of Shara and related Ometo speech varieties (Zergulla mòlɛ́)
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