molestia

See also: moléstia

Italian

Etymology

From Latin molestia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moˈlɛs.tja/
• Rhymes: -ɛstja
• Hyphenation: mo‧lè‧stia

Noun

molestia f (plural molestie) (usually in the plural)

1. annoyance, bother, trouble

   Synonyms: fastidio, seccatura, disturbo, noia, tormento

2. (by extension, law) harassment
3. (by extension) breakup (termination of a romantic relationship)

   Synonyms: scocciatura, rottura

Usage notes

• This is a false friend of English molestation.

Related terms

• molestare

Anagrams

• mesilato, molestai, omelista, semolati, smielato

Latin

Etymology

Etymology tree

Latin molestus

Proto-Indo-European *-yós

Proto-Italic *-ios

Old Latin -ios

Latin -ius

Latin -ia

Latin molestia

From molestus (“troublesome”) + -ia.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [mɔˈɫɛs.ti.a]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [moˈlɛs.ti.a]

Noun

molestia f (genitive molestiae); first declension

1. trouble, troublesomeness, irksomeness
2. uneasiness, annoyance
3. molestation
4. vexation, disgust, dislike

Declension

First-declension noun.

	singular	plural
nominative	molestia	molestiae
genitive	molestiae	molestiārum
dative	molestiae	molestiīs
accusative	molestiam	molestiās
ablative	molestiā	molestiīs
vocative	molestia	molestiae

Descendants

• Catalan: molèstia
• Italian: molestia
• Portuguese: moléstia
• Spanish: molestia

References

• “molestia”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “molestia”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891), An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• "molestia", in Charles du Fresne du Cange, Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• “molestia”, in Gaffiot, Félix (1934), Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
• Carl Meißner; Henry William Auden (1894), Latin Phrase-Book‎^[1], London: Macmillan and Co.
  • to weary, bore the reader: languorem, molestiam legentium animis afferre
    

Spanish

Etymology

From Latin molestia.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moˈlestja/ [moˈles.t̪ja]
• Rhymes: -estja
• Syllabification: mo‧les‧tia

Noun

molestia f (plural molestias)

1. trouble, nuisance, inconvenience, bother

   perdona las molestias ― sorry for the inconvenience

2. discomfort (health-related or bodily pain)

Related terms

• molestar
• molesto
• molestoso

Further reading

• “molestia”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025