mole

See also: Mole, móle, molé, môle, molë, and mɔ̀lɛ̀

English

Etymology 1

From Middle English mole, mool, from Old English māl, mǣl (“a mole, spot, mark, blemish”), 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/
• (US) IPA^(key): /mol/, /moʊl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊl

Noun

mole (plural moles)

woman with a mole on her face

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

Synonyms

• birthmark
• nevus, naevus, nævus

Related terms

• beauty mark

Translations

dark spot on the skin

• Albanian: nishan (sq) m
• Arabic: خَال‏‎ (ar) m (ḵāl), شَامَة‏‎ f (šāma)

  Egyptian Arabic: حسنة‏‎ f (ḥasana), شامة‏‎ f (shama)

• Armenian: խալ (hy) (xal)
• Asturian: llunar (ast) m, f
• Belarusian: радзі́мка f (radzímka)
• Bikol Central: arong
• Bulgarian: бе́нка f (bénka)
• Burmese: မှဲ့ (my) (hmai.)
• Catalan: piga (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 胎痣 (zh) (tāizhì), 黑痣 (zh) (hēizhì)

• Coptic: ⲑⲟⲓ m (thoi)
• Czech: mateřské znaménko n
• Danish: modermærke (da) n
• Dutch: moedervlek (nl) f
• Faroese: móðurmerki n
• Finnish: luomi (fi), syntymämerkki (fi)
• French: grain de beauté (fr) m, nævus (fr) m
• Galician: lunar m
• Georgian: ხალი (xali)
• German: Muttermal (de) n, Mal (de) n
• Greek: ελιά (el) f (eliá)
• Hindi: तिल (hi) m (til)
• Hungarian: anyajegy (hu)
• Interlingua: nevo
• Irish: ball dobhráin m
• Isthmus Zapotec: biuyaa
• Italian: neo (it) m
• Japanese: ほくろ (ja) (hokuro) (黒子 (ja) (hokuro))
• Khmer: ប្រជ្រុយ (km) (brâchrŭy)
• Korean: 반점 (ko) (banjeom), 점 (ko) (jeom)
• Kurdish:

  Sorani: خاڵ‏‎ (xall)

• Ladino: benk
• Latin: naevus m
• Macedonian: бе́нка f (bénka)
• Malay: tahi lalat
• Maori: ira
• Marathi: तीळ m (tīḷ)
• Navajo: azhiin
• Norwegian: føflekk (no) m
• Ottoman Turkish: بڭ‏‎ (beñ), خال‏‎ (xal)
• Persian: خال‏‎ (fa) (xâl)
• Polish: znamię (pl) n, pieprzyk m
• Portuguese: pinta (pt) f, sinal (pt) m, mancha (pt) f, nevo (pt) m
• Romanian: aluniță (ro) f
• Russian: ро́динка (ru) f (ródinka), роди́мое пятно́ n (rodímoje pjatnó)
• Sardinian:

  Campidanese: neu m

• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: мадеж m, младеж m, бен m

  Roman: madež (sh) m, mladež (sh) m, ben (sh) m

• Slovak: materske znamienko n
• Slovene: materino znamenje n
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: znamje n

• Spanish: marca de nacimiento f, lunar (es) m
• Swahili: fuko (sw)
• Swedish: födelsemärke (sv) n, leverfläck (sv) c, nevus (sv) c (medical term)
• Tagalog: nunal
• Telugu: పుట్టుమచ్చ (te) (puṭṭumacca)
• Turkish: ben (tr)
• Ukrainian: роди́мка f (rodýmka)
• Urdu: تل‏‎ m (til)
• Vietnamese: nốt ruồi (vi)

Etymology 2

From Middle English mol, molde, molle, from Old English *mol, 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/
• (US) IPA^(key): /mol/, /moʊl/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əʊl

Noun

mole (plural moles)

a mole (animal)

a mole (excavator)

1. Any of several small, burrowing insectivores of the family Talpidae.
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.

Derived terms

Derived terms

• golden mole
• mole crab
• mole cricket

• mole rat
• mole run
• mole salamander

Synonyms

• mouldwarp

Translations

burrowing insectivore

• Afrikaans: mol
• Albanian: urith (sq) m
• Arabic: خُلْد‏‎ m (ḵuld)
• Armenian: խլուրդ (hy) (xlurd)
• Asturian: topu m
• Avar: бецагӏункӏкӏ (becaʿunḳ̄)
• Bashkir: төрткө (törtkö), һуҡыр сысҡан (huqïr sïsqan)
• Basque: sator (eu)
• Belarusian: крот (be) m (krot)
• Breton: goz (br) f
• Bulgarian: къртица (bg) f (kǎrtica)
• Burmese: ပွေး (my) (pwe:)
• Catalan: talp m
• Cherokee: ᏘᏁᏆ (tinequa)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 鼴 (zh), 鼹 (zh) (yǎn), 鼴鼠 (zh), 鼹鼠 (zh) (yǎnshǔ)

• Czech: krt (cs) m, krtek (cs) m
• Danish: muldvarp c
• Dutch: mol (nl) m
• Esperanto: talpo (eo)
• Estonian: mutt (et)
• Faroese: moldvørpa f
• Finnish: kontiainen (fi), maamyyrä (fi)
• French: taupe (fr) f

  Old French: taupe f

• Friulian: farc
• Galician: toupa (gl) f, toupeira (gl) f
• Georgian: თხუნელა (txunela), მუდო (mudo)
• German: Maulwurf (de) m
• Greek: τυφλοπόντικας (el) m (tyflopóntikas), ασπάλακας (el) m (aspálakas)
• Hawaiian: mioʻawi
• Hebrew: חפרפרת‏‎ (he) (khafarperet)
• Hindi: छछूँदर (hi) m (chachū̃dar)
• Hungarian: vakond (hu)
• Icelandic: moldvarpa f
• Indonesian: tikus tanah (id)
• Interlingua: talpa
• Irish: caochán (ga) m
• Italian: talpa (it) f
• Japanese: モグラ (mogura) (土竜)
• Khmer: សត្វកំពីងដូង (sâtvâkâmpingdong)
• Korean: 두더지 (ko) (dudeoji)
• Kurdish: koremişk (ku)
• Ladin: talpina
• Latgalian: kūrmuļs
• Latin: talpa f
• Latvian: kurmis m

• Lithuanian: kurmis (lt) ?
• Low German: Mullworp (nds) m, Mullwarp m, Winnworp m, Winnwarp m
• Luxembourgish: Maulef (lb) m
• Macedonian: крт m (krt)
• Maltese: talpa
• Mingo: tekaˀnyakáíteˀ
• Mongolian: мэнгэ (mn) (menge)
• Navajo: naadoobooʼíinii
• Neapolitan: trappito m
• Norman: taupe f, taupîn m
• Northern Sami: ^{(please verify)} eanamuolddat
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: moldvarp (no) m, muldvarp (no) m

  Nynorsk: moldvarp m

• Occitan: talpa (oc) f, taupa (oc) f, darbon (oc) m
• Ojibwe: nenaapaajinikesi
• Persian: کور موش‏‎
• Polish: kret (pl) m
• Portuguese: toupeira (pt) f
• Romani: balo-puviako m, bali-puviaki f
• Romanian: cârtiță (ro) f, sobol (ro) m
• Romansch: talpa
• Russian: крот (ru) m (krot)
• Sardinian: talpa, topi, tarpa
• Scottish Gaelic: dallag f, famh m, f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: кртица f

  Roman: krtica (sh) f

• Slovak: krt (sk) m
• Slovene: krt (sl) m
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: kšet m

  Upper Sorbian: knot m

• Sotho: kgwiti
• Spanish: topo (es) m
• Swahili: fuko (sw)
• Swedish: mullvad (sv) c
• Thai: ตุ่น (dtùn)
• Turkish: köstebek (tr)
• Ukrainian: кріт m (krit)
• Urdu: چھچھوندر‏‎ m (chachū̃dar)
• Venetian: topinara
• Vietnamese: chuột chũi
• Volapük: talp (vo)
• Welsh: gwadd (cy) f, twrch daear m
• West Frisian: mol c
• Yiddish: קראָט‏‎ m (krot), מולטוואָרעס‏‎ m (multvores)

mole rat — see mole rat

internal spy

• Asturian: topu m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 內奸 (zh), 内奸 (zh) (nèijiān)

• Danish: muldvarp c
• Dutch: mol (nl) m
• Finnish: myyrä (fi)
• French: taupe (fr) f
• German: Maulwurf (de) m, Spion (de) m
• Greek: μυστικός πληροφοριοδότης m (mystikós pliroforiodótis), χαφιές (el) m (chafiés)
• Interlingua: spia, spion
• Japanese: 二重スパイ (にじゅうスパイ, nijū supai)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: moldvarp (no) m, muldvarp (no) m

  Nynorsk: moldvarp m

• Polish: wtyczka (pl) f, kret (pl) m
• Portuguese: espião (pt) m, espiã f
• Romanian: cârtiță (ro) f
• Russian: крот (ru) m (krot)
• Spanish: topo (es) m
• Swahili: fuko (sw)
• Swedish: mullvad (sv) c
• Telugu: గూఢచారి (te) (gūḍhacāri)
• Turkish: köstebek (tr)

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 [moʊl] in the Australian accent.

Pronunciation

• (Australia) IPA^(key): /moʊl/
• Rhymes: -əʊl

Noun

mole (plural moles)

1. A moll, a bitch, a slut.

Synonyms

• moll

Translations

translations to be checked

• German: ^{(please verify)} Braut (de) f, ^{(please verify)} Gangsterbraut f, ^{(please verify)} Puppe (de) f

Etymology 4

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

the remains of a mole at Dunkirk

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /məʊl/
• (US) 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 [...]

   • 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.

Translations

massive structure used as a pier or breakwater

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 防波堤 (zh) (fángbōdī)

• Danish: mole c
• Finnish: möljä (fi)
• French: môle (fr) m
• German: Mole (de) f
• Greek: μόλος (el) m (mólos)
• Hungarian: móló (hu)
• Interlingua: mole, jectata
• Irish: muirmhúr m
• Italian: molo (it) m

• Japanese: 防波堤 (ぼうはてい, bōhatei)
• Korean: 방파제 (ko) (bangpaje) (防波堤 (ko))
• Maori: rongoteka
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: molo (no) m

  Nynorsk: molo m

• Polish: falochron (pl) m
• Portuguese: molhe (pt) m, quebra-mar m
• Russian: мол (ru) m (mol), волноре́з (ru) m (volnoréz), волноло́м (ru) m (volnolóm)
• Spanish: rompeolas m, muelle (es) m
• Swahili: fuko (sw)

Etymology 5

From German Mol.

Alternative forms

• mol (dated)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /məʊl/
• (US) 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 as many elementary entities (atoms, ions, molecules, etc.) as there are atoms in 0.012 kg of carbon-12. Symbol: mol. The number of atoms is known as Avogadro’s number. [from 1897]

Synonyms

• gram molecule

Translations

unit of amount

• Catalan: mol (ca) m
• Czech: mol (cs) m
• Danish: mol n
• Dutch: mol (nl) m
• Esperanto: molo (eo)
• Finnish: mooli (fi)
• French: mole (fr) f
• Galician: mol (gl) m
• Georgian: მოლი (moli)
• German: Mol (de) n
• Greek: μολ n (mol)
• Hindi: मोल (hi) (mōl)
• Hungarian: mól (hu)
• Irish: mól m

• Italian: mole (it) f, grammo-molecola (it) f
• Japanese: モル (ja) (moru)
• Korean: 몰 (ko) (mol)
• Malay: mol
• Polish: mol (pl) m
• Portuguese: mol (pt) m, mole (pt) m
• Romanian: mol (ro) m
• Russian: моль (ru) m (molʹ)
• Spanish: mol (es) f
• Swahili: mfuko (sw)
• Swedish: mol (sv)
• Turkish: mol (tr)
• Urdu: مول‏‎ (mōl)
• Vietnamese: mol (vi)

Etymology 6

From Latin mola.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /məʊl/
• (US) 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

hemorrhagic mass of tissue in the uterus

• French: môle (fr) f
• German: Mole (de) f

• Serbo-Croatian: mola (sh)
• Spanish: mola (es) f

Etymology 7

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

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmoʊleɪ/, /ˈmoʊli/

Noun

mole (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 the sauce which contains chocolate and which is used in cooking main dishes, not desserts.

Translations

sauce

• French: mole (fr) m
• Isthmus Zapotec: guiñadó

• Spanish: mole (es) m
• Swahili: mfuko (sw)

Anagrams

• Elmo, Lomé, Melo, melo-, moel

---

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moːlə/, [ˈmoːlə]

Noun

mole c (singular definite molen, plural indefinite moler)

1. mole, breakwater
2. pier, jetty

Inflection

Declension of mole

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

---

Esperanto

Adverb

mole

1. softly

Related terms

• mola (“soft”)

Antonyms

• malmole

---

French

Pronunciation

• Audio (Paris)

  (file)

Noun

mole f (plural moles)

1. (chemistry, physics) mole

Further reading

• “mole” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

---

Italian

Noun

mole f (plural moli)

1. (chemistry, physics) mole

Synonyms

• grammo-molecola

Related terms

• millimole
• molare

Anagrams

• elmo, melo

---

Latin

Etymology 1

Verb

mole

1. second-person singular present active imperative of molō

Etymology 2

Noun

mōle f

1. ablative singular of mōles

---

Lower Sorbian

Noun

mole

1. superseded spelling of móle.

---

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔ.lɨ/
• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔ.li/
• (South Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈmɔ.le/
• Hyphenation: mo‧le

Etymology 1

From Old Portuguese mole, from Latin mollis, mollem, earlier *molduis, from Proto-Indo-European *(h₂)moldus (“soft, weak”).

Adjective

mole m, f (plural moles, comparable)

1. Not hard; smooth or flexible; soft.
2. (informal) Not difficult; easy.

Inflection

Inflection of mole

	singular		plural
	masculine	feminine	masculine	feminine
positive	mole	mole	moles	moles
comparative	mais mole	mais mole	mais moles	mais moles
superlative	o mais mole molíssimo	a mais mole molíssima	os mais moles molíssimos	as mais moles molíssimas
augmentative	molão	molona	molões	molonas
diminutive	molinho	molinha	molinhos	molinhas

Related terms

• molhar

Etymology 2

From Latin mōles.

Noun

mole f (plural moles)

1. mass

Etymology 3

Noun

mole m (plural moles)

1. (Portugal) Alternative form of mol

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Spanish

Etymology 1

From Latin mollis; cognate with muelle.

Adjective

mole (plural moles)

1. soft, mild

Synonyms

• muelle

Etymology 2

From Latin moles

Noun

mole f (plural moles)

1. hunk, chunk, slab (thing of large size or quantity)
2. massiveness

Etymology 3

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

Noun

mole m (plural moles)

1. (Mexico) mole, a type of stew.

Etymology 4

Verb

mole

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of molar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of molar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of molar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of molar.

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Zayse-Zergulla

Noun

mole

1. fish

References

• Takács, Gábor (1999-2008) Etymological Dictionary of Egyptian, volume 3, Leiden: Brill, ISBN 9789004115385, page 397: “Zayse mo'le”
• Linda Jordan, A study of Shara and related Ometo speech varieties (Zergulla mòlɛ́)