mole

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

mole

Wikipedia

Etymology 1

English Wikipedia has an article on:

mole (skin marking)

Wikipedia

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

• (UK) IPA^(key): /məʊl/, /mɔʊl/
• (Estuary English) IPA^(key): /mɒʊl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /mol/, /moʊl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊl

Noun

mole (plural moles)

1. A naevus, a pigmented, slightly raised, and sometimes hairy spot on the skin.

Synonyms

• birthmark
• nevus, naevus, nævus

Related terms

• beauty mark

Translations

Etymology 2

English Wikipedia has an article on:

mole (animal)

Wikipedia

English Wikipedia has an article on:

mole (espionage)

Wikipedia

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

• mool, moule, mowle, mold (obsolete)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /məʊl/
• (Estuary English) IPA^(key): /mɒʊl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /mol/, /moʊl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊl

Noun

mole (plural moles)

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

• molewarp
• mouldwarp

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 3

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 in the Australian accent.

Pronunciation

• (General Australian) IPA^(key): /məʉl/,
• Rhymes: -əʊl

Noun

mole (plural moles)

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

Synonyms

• moll

Translations

Etymology 4

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Mole (architecture)

Wikipedia

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

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /məʊl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /mol/, /moʊl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊl

Noun

mole (plural moles)

1. (nautical) A massive structure, usually of stone, used as a pier, breakwater or junction between places separated by water.
   • 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

Etymology 5

English Wikipedia has an article on:

mole (unit)

Wikipedia

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

• mol (dated)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /məʊl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /mol/, /moʊl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊl

Noun

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.

Hyponyms

• gram molecule
• gram atom

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology 6

English Wikipedia has an article on:

hydatidiform mole

Wikipedia

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

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /məʊl/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /mol/, /moʊl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊl

Noun

mole (plural moles)

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

Translations

Etymology 7

English Wikipedia has an article on:

mole (sauce)

Wikipedia

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

Alternative forms

• molé

Pronunciation

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈmoʊleɪ/, /ˈmoʊli/

  • Audio (Southern England)

    (file)

Noun

mole (countable and uncountable, plural moles)

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.

Translations

References

Anagrams

• Elmo, Lomé, Melo, melo-, moel

Central Franconian

Etymology

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

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɔːlə/

Verb

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

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

See also

• mahle

Chavacano

Etymology

From Spanish moler (“to grind”).

Verb

molé

1. to mill; to grind

Danish

Danish Wikipedia has an article on:

mole

Wikipedia ^da

Etymology

From French môle.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moːlə/,

Noun

mole c (singular definite molen, plural indefinite moler)

1. mole, breakwater
2. pier, jetty

Inflection

Esperanto

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Adverb

mole

1. softly

Antonyms

• malmole

Related terms

• mola (“soft”)

French

Etymology

Borrowed from German Mol.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɔl/

• Audio (Paris)

  (file)

Noun

mole f (plural moles)

1. (chemistry, physics) mole

Further reading

• “mole”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

Galician

Verb

mole

1. third-person singular present indicative of mulir

Italian

Pronunciation

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

Etymology 1

Borrowed from German Mol.

Noun

mole f (plural moli)

1. (chemistry, physics) mole

   Synonym: grammo-molecola

Derived terms

• millimole
• molare

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

mole

1. plural of mola

Anagrams

• elmo, melo, mélo

Latin

Etymology 1

Verb

mole

1. second-person singular present active imperative of molō

Etymology 2

Noun

mōle f

1. ablative singular of mōlēs

Lower Sorbian

Noun

mole

1. Superseded spelling of móle.

Middle English

Noun

mole

1. Alternative form of molle (“mole”)

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɔ.lɛ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɔlɛ
• Syllabification: mo‧le

Noun

mole m animal

1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of mól

Noun

mole m inan

1. nominative/accusative/vocative plural of mol

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: mo‧le

Etymology 1

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

Adjective

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

• molemente

Related terms

• moleza
• molhar

Etymology 2

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

Noun

mole f (plural moles)

1. mass

Etymology 3

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

mole f (plural moles)

1. Portugal form of mol (unit of amount)

Etymology 4

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Noun

mole m (plural moles)

1. Alternative form of molhe (breakwater)

Further reading

• “mole” in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa.

Serbo-Croatian

Verb

mole (Cyrillic spelling моле)

1. third-person plural present of moliti

Spanish

Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:

Mole (disambiguation)

Wikipedia ^es

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmole/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ole
• Syllabification: mo‧le

Etymology 1

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

Adjective

mole m or f (masculine and feminine plural moles)

1. soft, mild

   Synonym: muelle

Etymology 2

Borrowed from Latin mōlēs.

Noun

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:

     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

Spanish Wikipedia has an article on:

Mole (stew)

Wikipedia ^es

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

Noun

mole m (plural moles)

1. (Mexico) mole, a type of stew

Derived terms

Etymology 4

Verb

mole

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

Further reading

• “mole”, in Diccionario de la lengua española, Vigésima tercera edición, Real Academia Española, 2014

Zayse-Zergulla

Noun

mole

1. fish

References

• 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)