moll

See also: Moll and møll

English

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mɒl/
- Audio (UK) (file)
Rhymes: -ɒl
Homophones: mall, maul (some accents)
Homophone: mole (some accents)

Etymology 1

From Moll, an archaic nickname for Mary (see also Molly).

Alternative forms

mole (Australian, girlfriend of surfie or bikie)

Pronunciation

Audio (AU) (file)

Noun

moll (plural molls)

A female companion of a gangster, especially a former or current prostitute.
- 1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart; Avery Hopwood, chapter I, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, OCLC 20230794, page 01:
  The Bat—they called him the Bat. […]. He […] played a lone hand, […]. Most lone wolves had a moll at any rate—women were their ruin—but if the Bat had a moll, not even the grapevine telegraph could locate her.
A prostitute or woman with loose sexual morals.
(Australia, New Zealand, slang, derogatory) Bitch, slut; an insulting epithet applied to a female.
(Australia, New Zealand, slang) A girlfriend of a bikie.
- 1979, Eric Reade, History and Heartburn: The Saga of Australian Film, 1896-1978, p.209:
  The bikies ‘molls’ included Susan Lloyd as Tart; Victoria Anoux as Flossie; and Rosalind Talamini as Sunshine.
- 1995, Debra Adelaide, The Hotel Albatross, p.76:
  ‘Oh God!’ groans Julie who once was a bikie moll back in the early seventies. ‘Hope it′s no one I know.’ But the Machismos turn out to be based on a New Zealand gang, which assembled in Australia after her time.
- 2009, Albert Moran, Errol Vieth, The A to Z of Australian and New Zealand Cinema, p.142:
  Gilling first appeared as the biker′s moll Vanessa in Stone (1974) and the beautiful, evil cabin attendant in Number 96 (1974).
(Australia, New Zealand, slang) A girlfriend of a surfie; blends with pejorative sense.
(slang) A female fan of extreme metal, grunge or hardcore punk, especially the girlfriend of a musician of those aforementioned genres.

Usage notes

(girlfriend of a surfie or bikie): Because Australian pronunciation merges the /ɒ/ and /əʊ/ phonemes before /l/ (both become [oʊl]), this word is very commonly spelt mole in Australia, probably by contamination with mole (“sneaky person”). Indeed, the Australian Oxford dictionary does not list the Australian meaning of the term under the headword moll, but only under mole, although it does recognise that mole in this sense is “probably” a mere “variant of moll”.

Synonyms

(surfie's girlfriend): chick

Etymology 2

German Moll, from Latin mollis (“soft, tender, elegiac”). Compare molle (“flat (in music)”).

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål moll.

Adjective

moll (not comparable)

(music, obsolete) minor; in the minor mode
A moll, that is, A minor

Translations

minor — see minor

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for moll in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913)

Anagrams

LOML

Catalan

Pronunciation

(Balearic, Central, Valencian) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔʎ/

Etymology 1

From Old Catalan moyll, from Latin mollem, from earlier *molduis, from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥dus (“soft, weak”), from *mel- (“soft, weak, tender”). Compare Occitan mòl, French mou, Spanish muelle.

Adjective

moll (feminine molla, masculine plural molls, feminine plural molles)

moist
weak

Derived terms

aiguamoll
bocamoll
mollera
remollir

Related terms

mullar

Etymology 2

From Old Catalan moyl, from Vulgar Latin *medullum, analogically derived from Latin medulla[1], and probably influenced by Etymology 1. Compare Occitan mesolh, Spanish meollo, Portuguese miolo. Doublet of molla and medul·la, which were, respectively, inherited and borrowed from Latin.

Noun

moll m (uncountable)

marrow, as in bone marrow
the soft part of a fruit

Etymology 3

From Latin mullus (“red mullet”).

Noun

moll m (plural molls)

several species of fish
moll de fang — Mullus barbatus
moll de roca — Mullus surmuletus
moll reial — Apogon imberbis

Etymology 4

From Latin moles.

Noun

moll m (plural molls)

quay, jetty
breakwater

References

“moll”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023

Czech

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈmol]
Hyphenation: moll

Noun

moll n

(music) minor

Declension

Declension of moll

	singular	plural
nominative	moll	moll
genitive	moll	moll
dative	moll	moll
accusative	moll	moll
vocative	moll	moll
locative	moll	moll
instrumental	moll	moll

Hungarian

Etymology

Borrowed from German Moll, from Latin mollis (“soft”).[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ˈmolː]
Hyphenation: moll
Rhymes: -olː

Adjective

moll (not comparable)

(music) minor
moll akkord ― minor chord

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	moll	mollok
accusative	mollt	mollokat
dative	mollnak	molloknak
instrumental	mollal	mollokkal
causal-final	mollért	mollokért
translative	mollá	mollokká
terminative	mollig	mollokig
essive-formal	mollként	mollokként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	mollban	mollokban
superessive	mollon	mollokon
adessive	mollnál	molloknál
illative	mollba	mollokba
sublative	mollra	mollokra
allative	mollhoz	mollokhoz
elative	mollból	mollokból
delative	mollról	mollokról
ablative	molltól	molloktól
non-attributive possessive - singular	mollé	molloké
non-attributive possessive - plural	molléi	mollokéi

Noun

moll (plural mollok)

(music) minor (scale or key)
a-moll ― A minor

Declension

Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
	singular	plural
nominative	moll	mollok
accusative	mollt	mollokat
dative	mollnak	molloknak
instrumental	mollal	mollokkal
causal-final	mollért	mollokért
translative	mollá	mollokká
terminative	mollig	mollokig
essive-formal	mollként	mollokként
essive-modal	—	—
inessive	mollban	mollokban
superessive	mollon	mollokon
adessive	mollnál	molloknál
illative	mollba	mollokba
sublative	mollra	mollokra
allative	mollhoz	mollokhoz
elative	mollból	mollokból
delative	mollról	mollokról
ablative	molltól	molloktól
non-attributive possessive - singular	mollé	molloké
non-attributive possessive - plural	molléi	mollokéi

Possessive forms of moll
possessor	single possession	multiple possessions
1st person sing.	mollom	molljaim
2nd person sing.	mollod	molljaid
3rd person sing.	mollja	molljai
1st person plural	mollunk	molljaink
2nd person plural	mollotok	molljaitok
3rd person plural	molljuk	molljaik

Derived terms

Compound words

a-moll
c-moll
d-moll
e-moll
f-moll
g-moll
h-moll

References

moll in Tótfalusi, István. Magyar etimológiai nagyszótár (’Hungarian Comprehensive Dictionary of Etymology’). Budapest: Arcanum Adatbázis, 2001; Arcanum DVD Könyvtár →ISBN

Icelandic

Etymology

From Latin mollis (“soft, mild”).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mɔlː/
Rhymes: -ɔlː

Noun

moll m (genitive singular molls, nominative plural mollar)

(music) minor (scale or key)

Declension

declension of moll

	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
m-s1	singular		plural
nominative	moll	mollinn	mollar	mollarnir
accusative	moll	mollinn	molla	mollana
dative	molli / moll	mollinum / mollnum	mollum	mollunum
genitive	molls	mollsins	molla	mollanna

Derived terms

a-moll
cís-moll
c-moll
d-moll
e-moll
fís-moll
f-moll
g-moll
h-moll

Irish

Etymology

From Old Irish moil (“a mass, heap, pile”), mul m (“a globular mass, heap, lump”).

Noun

moll m (genitive singular moill, nominative plural mollta)

heap; large amount, large number

Declension

Declension of moll

First declension

Bare forms:

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	moll	mollta
Vocative	a mhoill	a mhollta
Genitive	moill	mollta
Dative	moll	mollta

Forms with the definite article:

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	an moll	na mollta
Genitive	an mhoill	na mollta
Dative	leis an moll don mholl	leis na mollta

Alternative plurals: molltra, molltracha

Derived terms

moll bréag (“pack of lies”)

Mutation

Irish mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
moll	mholl	not applicable
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

References

Ó Dónaill, Niall (1977), “moll”, in Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla, Dublin: An Gúm, →ISBN
G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “moil”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language
G. Toner, M. Ní Mhaonaigh, S. Arbuthnot, D. Wodtko, M.-L. Theuerkauf, editors (2019), “mul”, in eDIL: Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language

Manx

Etymology 1

From Middle Irish mellaid (“to deceive, beguile, seduce”), a denominative verb from Old Irish meld (“pleasant, delightful”). Cognate with Irish meall and Scottish Gaelic meall.

Verb

moll (past voll, future independent mollee, verbal noun molley, past participle mollit)

fool, baffle, foil, beguile, cajole, captivate, deceive, bluff, trick
Mollee y molteyr oo my oddys eh. ― The deceiver will deceive you if he can.
disappoint
V'eh mollit nagh daink ee. ― He was disappointed that she did not come.
impose
be mistaken
Ayns shen t'ou mollit. ― That is where you are mistaken.

Derived terms

molteyr (“deceiver, charlatan, duper, fraud, cheat, con man, impostor”)

Etymology 2

From Old Irish moil (“a mass, heap, pile”), mul m (“a globular mass, heap, lump”).

Noun

moll m (genitive singular moll)

mass, pile, heap, pack
cluster, gathering, collection, huddle
nave

Mutation

Manx mutation
Radical	Lenition	Eclipsis
moll	voll	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Middle English

Noun

moll

Alternative form of molle (“rubbish”)

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mɔl/
Audio (file)
Rhymes: -ɔl
Hyphenation: moll
Homophone: mold

Etymology 1

From German Moll (“minor”), from Medieval Latin molle, of Latin mollis (“soft”), from earlier *molduis, from Proto-Italic *moldus, from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥dus (“soft, weak”), from Proto-Indo-European *mel- (“soft, weak, tender”).

Cognate with English moll, Icelandic moll, Czech moll, Hungarian moll and Swedish moll.

Noun

moll m (definite singular mollen, indefinite plural moller, definite plural mollene)

(music) a minor scale (having intervals of a semitone between the second and third degrees, and (usually) the fifth and sixth, and the seventh and eighth)
- 1907, Alexander Kielland, Samlede værker I (Mindeutgave), page 6:
  han vidste, at Hans blot kunde tre akkompagnementer; et i moll og to i dur
  he knew that Hans could only do three accompaniments; one in minor and two in major
- 2012, Eivind Buene, Allsang:
  musikken skifter fra moll til dur, og trombonene kommer inn over de lange, blanke strykeakkordene
  the music changes from minor to major, and the trombones come in over the long, shiny string chords
ren moll ― Aeolian mode
Antonym: dur
(figuratively) a minor (timbre, that in classical and romantic music, can evoke or express melancholy)
- 1852, Henrik Wergeland, Samlede Skrifter I, page 349:
  [løven] i moll maa klynke, som brølte før i dur
  [the lion] in minor must whine, which roared before in major
- 1926, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Samlede Digte I, page 169:
  gaa til moll fra dur
  go to minor from major
- 1949, Johan Borgen, Jenny og påfuglen, page 108:
  kollisjoner mellom duren fra de inntrengende og stuens moll
  collisions between the drone from the intruders and the living room minor
Antonym: dur

Etymology 2

From English mull, from Hindi.

Noun

moll m or n (definite singular mollen or mollet, indefinite plural moller or moll, definite plural mollene or molla)

(textiles) mull (a thin, soft muslin)
Coordinate term: linon

References

“moll” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
“moll_1” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
“moll_2” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
“moll” in Store norske leksikon
“moll (tekstil)” in Store norske leksikon

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From German Moll, from Latin mollis.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mɔlː/

Noun

moll m (definite singular mollen, uncountable)

(music) minor (scale or key)

Antonyms

dur

References

“moll” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Swedish

Pronunciation

audio (file)
IPA^(key): /mɔl/, [mɔlː]

Noun

moll (indeclinable)

(music) minor scale

Derived terms

a-moll

References

moll in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

Welsh

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mɔɬ/

Adjective

moll f

feminine singular of mwll

Mutation

Welsh mutation
radical	soft	nasal	aspirate
moll	foll	unchanged	unchanged
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

[1] “moll”, in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana, 2023

[2] Tótfalusi, István. Magyar etimológiai nagyszótár (’Hungarian Comprehensive Dictionary of Etymology’). Budapest: Arcanum Adatbázis, 2001; Arcanum DVD Könyvtár →ISBN

moll

English

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

Usage notes

Synonyms

Etymology 2

Adjective

Translations

Anagrams

Catalan

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Adjective

Derived terms

Related terms

Etymology 2

Noun

Etymology 3

Noun

Etymology 4

Noun

Further reading

References

Czech

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Hungarian

Etymology

Pronunciation

Adjective

Declension

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

References

Further reading

Icelandic

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

See also

Irish

Etymology

Noun

Declension

Derived terms

Mutation

References

Manx

Etymology 1

Verb

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Noun

Mutation

Middle English

Noun

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Noun

Etymology 2

Noun

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Pronunciation

Noun

Antonyms

References

Swedish

Pronunciation

Noun