Molly

See also: molly

English

Alternative forms

• Mollie

Etymology

From Moll, diminutive lambdacism of Mary +‎ -y.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈmɒ.li/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑ.li/

Proper noun

Molly

1. A diminutive of Mary or, less often, Margaret.
   • 1866 Elizabeth Gaskell: Wives and Daughters: Chapter 6:

     "My name's Molly. It is an old-fashioned name, and I was christened Mary. But Papa likes Molly."

     "That's right. Keep to the good old fashions, dear."

     "Well, I must say I think Mary is prettier than Molly, and quite as old a name, too," said Mrs Hamley.

     "I think it was," said Molly, lowering her voice, and dropping her eyes, "because mamma was Mary, and I was called Molly when she lived."

   • 1928 Joyce Lankester Brisley: Milly-Molly-Mandy Stories. Chapter 1:

     But Mother and Father and Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle and Aunty couldn't very well call out "Millicent Margaret Amanda" every time they wanted her, so they shortened it to "Milly-Molly-Mandy" which is quite easy to say.

2. A female given name from Hebrew.

Descendants

• → Irish: Mallaidh
• → Swedish: Molly

Noun

Molly (countable and uncountable, plural Mollies)

1. (Canada, US) The crystalline or powdered form of MDMA.
2. (historical) A Molly Maguire.

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Swedish

Etymology

From English Molly. First recorded as a Swedish name in 1806.

Proper noun

Molly c (genitive Mollys)

1. A female given name.