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单词 mole
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molen.1

Brit. /məʊl/, U.S. /moʊl/
Forms: Old English maal, Old English mal, Middle English mool, Middle English moyle, Middle English– mole, 1500s moole, 1500s–1600s moale, 1500s–1600s moll, 1500s–1600s molle, 1600s moal; Scottish 1800s maele, 1800s male, 1800s– mail, 1900s– mael.
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Middle Low German mēl (only in figurative use), Old High German meil, neuter, meila, strong and weak feminine (Middle High German meil, neuter, meile, strong and weak feminine), Gothic mail; further etymology uncertain.
1. A discoloured spot, esp. on cloth, linen, etc. Cf. iron mole n. 1. Also figurative. Now rare (Scottish). Sc. National Dict. (at Mail) records this sense as still in use in Fife, Lothian, Lanarkshire, and Roxburghshire in 1962.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > [noun] > spotted condition > spot
speckc725
moleeOE
spot?c1225
wen1340
spleck1398
tachea1400
motec1400
macule?a1425
smot1532
fleck1598
iron mould1638
flecket1684
sye1781
eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 305 Maculam, mal.
OE Antwerp Gloss. (1955) 88 Stigmentum, ful maal on rægel.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xiii. 315 Þi best cote, haukyn, Hath many moles and spottes.
a1500 (?1449) J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 723 (MED) Loke well youre lawne..Ye washe cleyn fro mole and spottes blake.
c1500 in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 108 To done away mool or spoot from clothe.
a1535 J. Fisher Serm. Good Friday in Spirituall Consol. (?1578) sig. F.vijv Any moole in your kerchiues.
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 4 One yron Mole defaceth the whole peece of lawne.
1583 L. Mascall tr. Profitable Bk. Spottes & Staines 6 Weat it still againe, till ye see the moll go forth.
1807 J. Hogg Mountain Bard in Poet. Wks. (1838) II. 262 That mantle bears the purple dye. And all the waters in Liddisdale,..Can ne'er wash out the wondrous maele!
1808 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Mail, Male, a spot in cloth, especially what is caused by iron; often, an irne mail.
1913 H. P. Cameron tr. Thomas à Kempis Of Imitation of Christ iii. xxiii Seenil is onie ane fun' hailly lowse frae a' mael o' selliness.
1923 G. Watson Roxburghshire Word-bk. 206 Mail, a stain or spot on cloth.
2.
a. A spot or blemish on the skin; spec. a benign, pigmented, raised or flat lesion consisting of melanocytes, present at or soon after birth. Cf. naevus n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > blemish > [noun] > mole
molea1398
honey spot1547
tongue-mole1562
mould1573
molehill1650
witch's teat1654
honey drop?a1800
honey-marka1803
rose-mole1877
witch-pap1886
witch's tit1932
c1300 in T. Hunt Pop. Med. 13th-cent. Eng. (1990) v. 243 Item ad delendum morfeam sive lepram cutis, anglice mool þat is oppe þe velle of manis body.]
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 84v Defaute of siȝt in þe iȝen..comeþ of many maner; somtyme..of webbes, of moles, & of wemmes.
?c1450 in G. Müller Aus Mittelengl. Medizintexten (1929) 33 It doth awey molys on a mannys body.
1571 T. Hill Contempl. Mankinde (title page) A little Treatise of Moles, seen on any part eyther of man or woman.
1592 R. Greene Pandosto (new ed.) sig. Biijv One Moale stayneth a whole face.
1598 R. Barckley Disc. Felicitie of Man iii. 203 His wife had a litle blacke spot (a Mole some call it) behind in her necke.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 76 Pimples, wems, and molls that be eye-sores.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) v. i. 240 My father had a moale vpon his brow. View more context for this quotation
a1682 Sir T. Browne Let. to Friend (1690) 5 In consumptive Diseases some eye the Complexion of Moals.
1693 tr. S. Blankaart Physical Dict. (ed. 2) Nævi, Moles, certain native Spots, and are Two-fold, either plain, or protuberant.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 130. ¶4 The several Moles and Marks which the Mother used to describe the Child.
1735 S.-Carolina Gaz. 29 Mar. 3/1 She is middle seiz'd Woman, has a mole on each of her cheeks.
1784 E. Allen Reason vii. §4. 258 Even moles on the surface of the skin are thought to be portentive of good or bad fortune.
1835 J. Green Dis. Skin 335 A small mole upon the cheek is sometimes held rather as a heightener of female beauty than otherwise.
1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 819 It is very difficult to discriminate warts from moles.
1900 E. Glyn Visits of Elizabeth (1906) 32 We saw a..family of elderly girls..and they all had moustaches or moles on the cheek.
1975 B. Bainbridge Sweet William i. 15 The yellow ringlets bounced, exposing a white neck and a small brown mole.
1991 G. Greer Change i. 12 The unkind sunlight showed every sag,..every mole, every freckle in our fifty-year-old faces.
†b. An ulcerous sore on an animal. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of animals generally > [noun] > abscess or sore
sorancec1440
felonc1450
mole1522
1522 J. Skelton Why come ye nat to Courte 243 A mayny of marefoles, That occupy theyr holys, Full of pocky molys.
c. figurative and in figurative contexts. A blemish, a fault. Also: a distinguishing or identifying mark.Quot. 1986 involves a play on mole n.3 3b.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > that which identifies or distinguishes > [noun]
tokenc1000
distinctionc1374
differencea1398
signeta1425
knowledge?c1475
smell?a1505
markc1522
badge1529
note1583
impress1590
monument1590
type1595
stamp1600
pressure1604
mintage1612
criterion1613
impressa1628
differencer1633
lineament1638
mole1644
discrimination1646
tessera1647
diagnostic1651
monumental1657
discretive1660
signate1662
footmark1666
trait1752
memorandum1766
fingerprint1792
insignia1796
identifier1807
designative1824
cachet1840
differentiator1854
tanga1867
trademark1869
signature1873
totem1875
differential1883
earmarkings1888
paw print1894
discriminator1943
ident1952
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > imperfection > [noun] > an imperfection > defect or fault or flaw > immaterial
default1340
vicec1386
craze1534
crack1570
flaw1586
tincturea1640
mole1644
shortness1644
snag1830
1644 J. Bulwer Chirologia 103 Reckoned by Quintilian among the moales of Rhetoricke.
1651 N. Bacon Contin. Hist. Disc. Govt. 286 A mole in this faire face of Church Government.
1660 R. Sharrock Hist. Propagation & Improvem. Veg. 9 There is a great controversie..whether this be a seed, or onely particular mole, and character of Plants of that nature.
1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 393 A few particular marks and moles in the Letters.
1715 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad I. Pref. There are two Peculiarities in Homer's Diction that are a sort of Marks or Moles, by which every common Eye distinguishes him at first sight.
1743 W. Whitehead Ess. Ridicule 217 The random pencil haply hit the mole; Ev'n from their prying foes such specks retreat.
1986 G. Chesbro Veil (1987) xxv. 189 The U.S. Army has a very fat KGB mole sitting on its collective face.

Compounds

General attributive.
mole-marked adj.
ΚΠ
1906 Blackwood's Mag. May 637/1 Such masculine flotsam as our mole-marked friend.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

molen.2

Brit. /məʊl/, U.S. /moʊl/
Forms: Middle English– mole, 1500s molle, 1600s mael (in sense 2), 1600s moale, 1600s moalld (in sense 2), 1600s–1700s mold (in sense 2), 1600s–1700s moles, 1600s–1700s mould (in sense 2).
Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French mole; Latin mōlēs.
Etymology: < Middle French mole (feminine) large stone (12th cent. in Old French), Middle French mole (masculine) mass (1466), Middle French mole (masculine) stone structure at the end of a jetty at the entrance to a harbour (late 15th cent.; French môle ; 1694 in sense 3) and their ultimate etymon classical Latin mōlēs (feminine) a large mass, thing of great size, rock, boulder, solid structure built across a stretch of water, jetty, dam, grand building, vast size, bulk, hugeness, probably cognate with ancient Greek μῶλος toil, struggle (see mothe adj.), and perhaps also with μόλις hardly, scarcely.Middle French mole in uses corresponding to sense 2 is probably not immediately < Latin, but, as indicated by the gender, probably arises ultimately from Byzantine Greek μῶλος , μόλος (6th cent.; < classical Latin mōlēs ), which was probably borrowed into Italian as molo (a1313; apparently a1300 in form moro ; compare post-classical Latin molum , mid 13th cent. in a Venetian source, also in form modulum , in a Genoese source) and subsequently (probably via Old Occitan) into Middle French. With sense 1 compare also Italian mole large rock, boulder (14th cent.; also c1330 in sense ‘importance, magnitude’), Spanish mole mass (1617). With sense 2 compare Catalan moll (c1400; probably > Middle French moulle (c1510), Spanish muelle (1591), Portuguese molhe (17th cent.; also 16th-cent. as mole , molde )), also German Mole (16th cent., also as Molo ; < Italian). For forms with final -d see discussion s.v. D n.
†1. Mass, greatness; a great mass; a large piece. Also figurative. Obsolete.Quots. 1867, 1893 illustrate an isolated revival in a chemical context, probably derived directly from classical Latin mōlēs as the etymon of molecule, with which it is explicitly contrasted (cf. molar adj.3 1). This prefigures the more specific use represented by mole n.8
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [noun] > largeness of volume or bulkiness > and solidity > large mass
molec1390
mass?a1425
bulk1641
c1390 in C. Horstmann Minor Poems Vernon MS (1892) i. 85 Þe Moles of vr crym, we prey, Do wey.
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 18 (MED) Þerfor þe sperme after þis is decised fro al þe body, noȝt forsoþ in mole, i. gretnez, bot in vigour, i. strengþ.
a1552 J. Leland Itinerary (1711) VII. 44 Kent Ryver is of a good Depthe not wel to be occupied with Botes for rowllyng Stones and other Moles.
1578 J. Banister Hist. Man i. f. 1 If he note..how the whole mole, and pack of members are sustayned by them [sc. bones].
1596 F. Sabie Dauid & Bathsheba in Adams Complaint sig. G2 O mightie founder of the earthly mole.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 194 The very mole and quantity of his [sc. the elephant's] body is sufficient to arme him against the feare of death.
1611 T. Coryate Crudities sig. Nn8v That superlatiue moles vnto which I now bend my speech.
1637 T. Heywood True Descr. Royall Ship 27 How else could such a mighty Mole be rais'd?
1677 M. Hale Contempl. ii. 92 The Guilt grows to such a moles, that a Man is desperately given over to all kind of Villany.
1707 G. Hickes Two Treat. i. ii. 59 The Victim to be slain was brought to the Mole (or Bulk) of the Altar.
1867 J. Attfield Introd. Pharmaceut. Chem. 22 Equal volumes..must contain equal numbers of molecules (the diminutive of mole or mass—literally little masses).
1893 J. Attfield Chem. (ed. 15) 465 Our conception of the structure or constitution of masses or moles of matter, or of particles or molecules.., are nothing more than conceptions.
2. A massive structure, esp. of stone, serving as a pier, breakwater, or causeway. Also: the area of water bounded by or contained within such a structure, esp. forming a harbour or port.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > berthing, mooring, or anchoring > harbour or port > [noun] > types of
creek1478
mole1545
haveneta1552
havenleta1552
portlet1577
seaport1596
close-harbour1615
basin1725
close port1728
entry port1838
port of call1838
way port1846
tidal basin1858
tidal harbour1859
port of register1860
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > flood or flooding > structures protecting from water or flooding > [noun] > mole or pier
pier1453
jutty1478
pile1512
mole1545
cob1605
beer1629
jetty1830
1545 in Acts Privy Council (1890) I. 241 Letters to Boloyne for the making of a Jettye or Mole.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. cciiii The Turkeiplier with .vi. English knyghtes were appoynted to defende the Molle or Peere at the hauen mouthe.
1579 G. Fenton tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Guicciardin vi. 300 The other..retyred to the mole of Naples.
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 12 The sea-ruined wall of the Mould.
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 255 The Mole, that from the South windes defendeth the hauen.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. x. 448 A French ship..that was lying in the Mould.
1641 L. Roberts Treasure of Traffike in J. R. McCulloch Early Eng. Tracts Comm. (1952) ii. 100 Hee erected a watch-Tower with a strong mould to preserve the ships that anchor there from the violence of all weathers.
1695 R. Blackmore Prince Arthur iv. 108 As when a Mold repels th' Invading Seas.
1704 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion III. xv. 454 He anchored in their very Mole.
1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies I. vi. 53 It has..a pretty good Mould, or Bason, for the Easterly [monsoons].
1773 P. Brydone Tour Sicily & Malta I. vii. 128 A stream of lava, running into the sea, formed a mole which no expence could have given them.
1791 W. Bartram Trav. N. & S. Carolina 253 A long point of flat rocks, which defended the mole from the surf.
1840 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 3 265/2 The extremity of the mole, called the chop, in which the sea made a large breach.
1847 E. Cresy Encycl. Civil Engin. I. 67 The Mole, which united Chalcis in the island of Eubœa with Aulis in Bœotia.
1893 C. Sloane-Stanley Reminisc. Midshipman's Life xx. 267 Landing at the Old Mole..we emerged into Warport Street.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 658/2 The city is built..on a T-shaped peninsula... The stem of the T was originally a mole leading to an island (Pharos) which formed the cross-piece.
1994 Esprit de Corps (Ottawa) Aug. 23/1 At Zeebrugge a 1½ mile long mole extended from Belgium into the North Sea to protect that vital entryway from northern storms.
†3. Archaeology. A Roman mausoleum of circular form. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > burial > grave or burial-place > types of tomb > [noun] > monumental > large or elaborate
shrinec1385
mausoleum1688
mole1700
imambara1837
speos1843
1700 J. Monro Let. 22 Aug. in Miscellanea Curiosa (Royal Soc.) (1708) III. 401 D.M. at the head of an Inscription, argues the Moles, the Sepulchre, the Monument, &c. was in the primary intention made for and dedicated to the Soul.
1720 A. Pope Verses Addison's Medals in Wks. 15 Huge moles whose shadow stretch'd from shore to shore, Their ruins perish'd, and their place no more!
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture II. 56/1 The Sepulchres of the Ancients are..in several other forms, as Moles and the like.
1818 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Canto IV clii. 79 Turn to the Mole which Hadrian rear'd on high.
1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. Gloss. 1005 The mole of Adrian.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

molen.3adj.1

Brit. /məʊl/, U.S. /moʊl/
Forms:

α. Middle English mooll, Middle English mulle, Middle English–1600s molle, Middle English–1600s moule, Middle English–1600s 1800s mol- (in compounds), Middle English– mole, 1500s moewle, 1500s mol, 1500s mool, 1500s moulle, 1500s mowl, 1500s–1600s moal, 1500s–1600s moale, 1500s–1600s moll, 1500s–1600s moole, 1500s–1600s moul, 1500s–1600s mowle.

β. late Middle English–1500s molde, late Middle English–1700s mold, late Middle English–1700s mould, 1500s moold.

Origin: Either (i) a word inherited from Germanic. Or (ii) a borrowing from a Germanic language.
Etymology: Borrowed from or cognate with Old Frisian moll , Middle Dutch mol , moll , molle , Middle Low German mol , mul mole (compare Old Saxon mol mole, listed in dictionaries but without exemplification). Further etymology uncertain; perhaps related to the similar word for a lizard: Old Saxon mol (Middle Low German mol , molle , mul ), Old High German mol , molm , molt (Middle High German mol , molle , molch , German Molch newt, salamander). Both words may be ultimately related to the Indo-European base of ancient Greek μέλας (see melano- comb. form). Forms with a d are perhaps influenced by mouldwarp n.An early Frankish form (perhaps 7th cent.) appears in the Reichenau glosses in Latinized form: ‘talpas, muli qui terram fodiunt’; not otherwise attested in Latin. The word is not attested in Old English, where the only term recorded for the animal is wand , wandeweorp , see want n.1 Perhaps attested earlier in the Sussex place name Molecomb (1284 as Molecumbe , 1301 as Mollecombe ) and apparently also in surnames:1225 Patent Rolls Henry III (1901) I. 591 Simonem Molekin.1275 in W. Illingworth Rotuli Hundredorum (1812) I. 175 Willielmus Molehunte. In sense 7 after moleskin n. With sense 8, compare the discussion of earlier sexual connotations of mole in G. Williams Dict. Sexual Lang. & Imagery Shakespearean & Stuart Lit. (1994) at cited word. See also mole-catcher n. 1, 2 and mole-catching adj.
I. A burrowing animal.
1.
a. Any of various small burrowing insectivorous mammals of the subfamily Talpinae (family Talpidae), which are found throughout temperate Eurasia and North America and usually have very poor (or no) vision, velvety fur that can be brushed in any direction, and short strong forelimbs with broad clawed toes adapted for digging; esp. the common Eurasian mole Talpa europaea, with blackish fur.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > [noun] > order Insectivora > family Talpidae
molec1400
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > [noun] > order Insectivora > family Talpidae > genus Talpa (mole)
wanteOE
mouldwarpa1325
molec1400
talpec1440
blind-mouse1607
mowdie1656
field tortoise1694
Talpa1706
α.
c1400 Femina (Trin. Cambr.) (1909) 117 Taulpes, molles, i. talpa.
?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena Orcherd of Syon (Harl.) (1966) 81 (MED) Þei ben ful couetouse men..whiche doon as a molle, þe which is alwey norischid in þe erþe into þe deeþ.
?c1450 in Anglia (1896) 18 305 (MED) Take and fle a mole owte of þe skynne.
c1475 (?a1430) J. Lydgate tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Life Man (Tiber.) 18390 Lyche a molle, they abyde; In erthe is hoolly ther labour.
c1483 in J. P. Collier Househ. Bks. John Duke of Norfolk & Thomas Earl of Surrey (1844) 359 My Lady gaff Braby for takynge of mulles xij.d.
1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. fvjv A Labor of Mollis.
1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) xviii. i. 739 The molle that hathe eyen closyd wythin a webbe.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 246/1 Mole a beest, talpe.
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 36v Go strike at the noewles, of deluing moewles [1577 mowles].
1584 J. Lyly Sapho & Phao ii. 131 Talke [not] with any neere the hill of a mowle.
1611 Bible (King James) Lev. xi. 30 These also shalbe vncleane vnto you,..the Lyzard, and the Snaile, and the Molle.
1682 London Mercury 22 Aug. 2/2 An Account of several Nations destroyed, or driven from their Habitations by Gnats, Moles..and other inconsiderable Creatures.
1714 J. Gay Shepherd's Week v. 157 While Moles the crumbled Earth in Hillocks raise.
1771 E. Griffith Hist. Lady Barton I. 118 They are..quick-eared as the mole.
1819 D. B. Warden Statist., Polit. & Hist. Acct. U.S. I. 194 The Red mole of Seba, Talpa rubra Americana.
1898 Daily News 21 Sept. 6/6 That leader, instead of burrowing underground like the mole, should appear on the surface.
1917 Mammals Amer. 303 The Mole is one of the most voracious of all animals.
1979 D. Attenborough Life on Earth (1981) ix. 214 Moles..have short silky fur, reduced eyes, powerful digging forelegs and a stumpy tail.
1997 J. Updike Toward End of Time 269 Moles, rats, and woodchucks did burrow and rummage in the soft, much-mulched soil.
β. tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) iv. 130 (MED) The molde [L. talpa] & other suche as diggeth lowe Anoy hem not, in hard lond yf they growe.1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Niii/2 A Mold, talpa.1570 P. Levens Manipulus Vocabulorum sig. Si/2 A Mould, talpa.1576 in W. H. Stevenson Rec. Borough Nottingham (1889) IV. 164 Payd to Bacon..for takyng of mouldes in the felde xiijs.1592 J. Lyly Speeches Progresse Bissam sig. Bv Me; he terrified..,saying that he would turne me..to a molde.1602 J. Colville Parænese 91 Vee blind oulles and molds.1763 in W. Wing Ann. Steeple Aston (1875) 63 Agreed by the Vestry that Thomas Dean is hir'd to look after the field; to look after the Crows and catch the moulds if he can.
b. Frequently in similes, etc.: used with reference to the proverbial blindness of moles.
Π
1563 W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) Rivers lxiv Blynde as molles.
1598 F. Rous Thule ii. sig. L 4v Like blinde Moles into our bane we goe.
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. ii. i. 313 In heauenly things yee are more blind then Moales.
1678 J. Dryden All for Love iv. 46 The Soul..like a Mole in Earth, busie and blind, Works all her folly up, and casts it outward To the Worlds open view.
1713 R. Bentley Remarks Disc. Free-thinking II. xlix. 49 In the whole Compass and last Tendency of Passages he's as blind as a Mole.
1818 M. W. Shelley Frankenstein II. v. 78 A condition more abject than that of the blind mole or harmless worm.
1891 A. Conan Doyle in Strand Mag. Dec. 634/1 I confess that I have been as blind as a mole.
1913 D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers i. 11 He thrust his face forward in the blind, snout-like way of a mole, seeming to sniff and peer for direction.
1984 H. Jacobson Peeping Tom (1985) i. iv. 115 But I was flat on my pillows tonight, with my eyes closed, blind like a mole.
2. (a) Any of various similar mammals of the families Talpidae and Chrysochloridae (order Insectivora); (b) any of various mammals of other orders which are thought to resemble the true moles in some way. Usually with distinguishing word.duck-, marsupial, shrew, star-nosed mole, etc.: see the first element. See also water mole n.
Π
1731 G. Medley tr. P. Kolb Present State Cape Good-Hope II. 123 [Golden] moles..are pretty numerous at the Cape.
1781 T. Pennant Hist. Quadrupeds II. 487 Linnæus places this [sc. the Brown Mole] and our radiated Mole, in his class of Sorex or Shrew.
1823 J. D. Godman Amer. Nat. Hist. (1836) I. 61 The shrew-mole is found abundantly in North America, from Canada to Virginia.
1849 Sketches Nat. Hist.: Mammalia IV. 98 The coast-rat, or sand-mole of the downs..is a native of Southern Africa, frequenting sandy tracts along the coast.
1855 W. S. Dallas in Syst. Nat. Hist. II. 490 The peculiar metallic lustre of their coats, which has given rise to the name of Golden Mole (Chrysochloris aurea), applied to the best known species.
1875 tr. E. O. Schmidt Doctr. Descent & Darwinism 237 The Ornithorhyncus, or duck-mole of Tasmania.
1904 Q. Rev. Oct. 470 The golden moles, recognisable by the iridescent sheen of their fur.
1934 W. A. Osborne Visitor to Austral. 76 The visitor is not likely to see..the marsupial mole, except in a zoo or museum.
1997 Daily Tel. 3 July 5/8 The golden mole, an African insectivore, is not particularly closely related to other insectivores such as hedgehogs, shrews and regular garden-variety moles.
II. Extended uses.
3.
a. A person who works underground; a person who works in darkness or in secrecy.
Π
1601 A. Dent Plaine Mans Path-way to Heauen 86 I wonder..yt these moulds [1603 moule] & muck-wormes of this earth, should so mind these shaddowish things [sc. riches].
1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. v. 164 Well said old Mole, can'st worke in the earth? so fast, a worthy Pioner.
1622 F. Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII 240 Hee had such Moles perpetually working and casting to undermine him.
1745 E. Young Consolation 49 The Miser earths his Treasure; and the Thief, Watching the Mole, half-beggars him e'er Morn.
1855 J. R. Leifchild Cornwall: Mines & Miners 151 The miners there must have been generations of human moles pursuing their slow but certain advances in mysterious candlelight.
1990 D. Potter Hide & Seek (BNC) Four or five hundred yards from the black hole [sc. a mine entrance] the trees on the slope had sagged towards each other, disturbed by the human moles working beneath their long roots.
b. A penetration agent who over a long period achieves a position of trust within the security defences (esp. an intelligence agency) of a state; (more generally) a person who betrays confidential information from a position of trust within an organization, esp. over a long period. Cf. sleeper n. 2d, mole v.2 2b.Rare before writings on Cold War espionage in the 1970s; earlier uses appear to be isolated and lack the specificity of meaning which the term acquired in such writings. The term was popularized through the novels of ‘John le Carré’ (see quot. 1974); it is generally thought that the world of espionage adopted it from le Carré, rather than vice versa. For a detailed examination of possible origins of the term, see H. Cooper & L. Redlinger Catching Spies (1988) pp.187–248.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > law enforcement > police force or the police > political police > [noun] > secret service agent > who gradually infiltrates
mole1922
1922 Morning Post 28 Dec. 7/8 It is..necessary..to describe this document in detail, so that those who may be directly or indirectly affected by the underground burrowings of our Bolshevist moles will be familiar with their methods and plans.
1935 J. Buchan House of Four Winds xi. 234 I also have certain moles at my command... When the Cirque Doré mobilizes itself it has many eyes and ears.
1960 G. Bailey Conspirators (1961) vi. 124 [In 1935] ‘Ivanov’..displayed such a disconcerting knowledge of the innermost workings of the White military organizations that Fedossenko decided to join his network..in order to discover the source of his information. He was recruited under the alias of ‘The Mole’.]
1974 ‘J. le Carré’ Tinker, Tailor viii. 62 Ivlov's task was to service a mole. A mole is a deep penetration agent so called because he burrows deep into the fabric of Western imperialism.
1977 Time 11 July 10/3 He also introduced a secret computer system to ferret out even ‘sleepers’ and ‘moles’, deepcover agents whose meticulous disguises are planned for long-term use.
1980 National Times (Austral.) 10 Aug. 3/2 The death has sparked off speculation that Paisley was the mole long suspected of penetrating the CIA.
1990 D. Rutherford Game of Sudden Death (BNC) 283 We've had a tip from one of our moles in the Securitate.
2014 N. West Hist. Dict. Brit. Intelligence 350 She admitted passing classified material to the CPGB, including the name of Max Knight's mole inside the organization.
†4. A person with poor (physical or mental) vision. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of eye > disordered vision > [noun] > dimness or poor vision > person
blinkard?1518
molea1616
stymie1616
blinker1637
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iv. i. 194 Pray you tread softly, that the blinde Mole may not heare a foot fall. View more context for this quotation
1677 W. Hughes Man of Sin i. iii. 11 A very mole must see, and Papist can't gainsay the Truth propounded.
†5. Short for mole-cricket n. at Compounds 2b. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > subclass Pterygota > [noun] > division Exopterygota or Hemimetabola > order Orthoptera > family Gryllotalpidae > member of genus Gryllotalpa
eve-churr1634
churr-worm1668
fen-cricket1678
mole-cricket1686
mole1714
gryllotalpa1791
1714 W. Derham Physico-theol. (ed. 2) iv. xiii. 234 Their two Fore-legs are formed somewhat like those of the ordinary Moles, or Gryllotalpa.
1762 Ann. Reg. 1761 113 The gardeners round Lambeth are pestered with vermin called flying moles.
6.
a. The pointed shoe or borer of a mole plough.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > ploughing equipment > [noun] > plough > mole-plough > part of
mole1805
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. Pl. xlvii Fig. 1. is the beam, 2. the mole, to which segments for lengthening it screw on at 3.
1834 Brit. Husbandry (Libr. Useful Knowl.) I. 453 The mole, or borer, is a well-tempered cast-iron conical share, of about three inches diameter at the largest end.
1922 Engineer 134 37/2 The mole, which is made from 2¼ in. diameter steel..is attached to a steel knife-edged coulter.
1922 Engineer 134 37/3 Vary the pitch of mole nose.
1988 J. A. R. Lockhart & A. J. L. Wiseman Introd. Crop Husbandry (ed. 6) ii. 37/2 A mole plough, which has a torpedo or bullet-shaped ‘mole’ attached to a steel coulter or blade, forms a cylindrical channel in the subsoil.
b. Mining and Civil Engineering. A remotely operated or automatic machine for boring or tunnelling.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > earth-moving and excavating equipment > [noun] > tunnelling equipment
poling board1837
shield1837
packing-board1850
pilot tunnel1881
subterrene1956
mole1960
1960 Engin. & Mining. Jrnl. Mar. 86/1 When the first Robbins Mechanical Mole was able to bore a 29.5-ft dia tunnel in shale at about 10 ft per hr, it was seen that here was a tunneling method potentially competitive with present day cyclic operations... It appears that the Mole will be suited for a wider range of rock types than at first thought possible.
1975 D. Beaty Electric Train 99 I don't exactly wield the shovel... I'm on the boring machine. The mole.
1993 Harrowsmith Dec. 43/2 (caption) Alcan's $1 billion project boasts some hefty equipment, including a 600-tonne ‘mole’ with a cutter head the size of a two-lane highway.
7. In plural. colloquial (chiefly Australian and New Zealand). Trousers made of moleskin.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > trousers > types of > made from specific material
shiverines1663
nankeen1770
overall1782
corduroys1791
ducks1825
webs1825
kerseys1833
moleskin1836
cord1837
kerseymeres1840
blue jeans1842
grey1860
mole trousers1860
chaparreras1861
Bedford cord1862
velveteens1862
dungarees1872
moles1879
chaps1884
chaparejos1887
oiler1889
greyers1900
flannels1911
Levi's1926
denim1932
chino1943
wrangler1947
Bedfords1954
sweats1956
sweatpants1957
1879 Kelly Gang 125 Trousers of a kind known in the slop-shops as ‘coloured moles’.
1881 H. W. Nesfield Chequered Career vii. 75 We..met men in rough flannels and dirty soil-stained moles.
1888 G. O. Preshaw Banking under Difficulties xxvi. 163 These moles are 12s. a pair.
1900 H. Lawson Over Sliprails 164 Tom stood up in his clean, white moles and white flannel shirt.
1929 K. S. Prichard Coonardoo xxiv. 234 A pair of old white moles with a shirt to match the sky.
1976 C. D. Mills Hobble Chains & Greenhide 60 The only other pair of pants I had were old stagers, and their seat was so delicate it had a sort of gossamer effect. This left only the ‘moles’.
1989 N.Z. Eng. Newslet. iii. 25 Moles, Moleskins, shearing trousers though not common today.
†8. slang. The penis. Cf. mole-catcher n. 2. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > sex organs > male sex organs > [noun] > penis
weapona1000
tarsec1000
pintleOE
cock?c1335
pillicock?c1335
yard1379
arrowa1382
looma1400
vergea1400
instrumentc1405
fidcocka1475
privya1500
virile member (or yard)?1541
prickc1555
tool1563
pillock1568
penis1578
codpiece1584
needle1592
bauble1593
dildo1597
nag1598
virility1598
ferret1599
rubigo?a1600
Jack1604
mentula1605
virge1608
prependent1610
flute1611
other thing1628
engine1634
manhood1640
cod1650
quillity1653
rammer1653
runnion1655
pego1663
sex1664
propagator1670
membrum virile1672
nervea1680
whore-pipe1684
Roger1689
pudding1693
handle?1731
machine1749
shaft1772
jock1790
poker1811
dickyc1815
Johnny?1833
organ1833
intromittent apparatus1836
root1846
Johnson1863
Peter1870
John Henry1874
dickc1890
dingusc1890
John Thomasc1890
old fellowc1890
Aaron's rod1891
dingle-dangle1893
middle leg1896
mole1896
pisser1896
micky1898
baby-maker1902
old man1902
pecker1902
pizzle1902
willy1905
ding-dong1906
mickey1909
pencil1916
dingbatc1920
plonkerc1920
Johna1922
whangera1922
knob1922
tube1922
ding1926
pee-pee1927
prong1927
pud1927
hose1928
whang1928
dong1930
putz1934
porkc1935
wiener1935
weenie1939
length1949
tadger1949
winkle1951
dinger1953
winky1954
dork1961
virilia1962
rig1964
wee-wee1964
Percy1965
meat tool1966
chopper1967
schlong1967
swipe1967
chode1968
trouser snake1968
ding-a-ling1969
dipstick1970
tonk1970
noonies1972
salami1977
monkey1978
langer1983
wanker1987
1896 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang IV. 330/1 Mole, the penis.
9. A grey colour resembling that of a mole's fur. Also attributive or as adj.
ΘΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [noun] > brownish grey
minim1632
Portland stone1633
stone-colour1663
nut-grey1797
stone tint1833
stone1848
moleskin colour1903
mole-colour1906
mole1908
taupe1911
the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [adjective] > brownish grey
bice1330
butternut1772
stone-coloured1772
stone1848
ficelle-coloured1882
oatmeal1885
moleskin-coloured1903
browny-grey1905
mole-grey1906
mole1908
stony1910
taupe1911
1908 Westm. Gaz. 29 Aug. 13/2 Mole has always been recognised..as a shade universally harmonious.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 26 Sept. 13/2 How charming with a mole suit is a mole hat, massed with roses!
1914 Scotsman 26 Oct. 12/2 The shades are Steel, Oxford and Parson Grey, Mole, Beaver, Fawn.
1971 Vogue 15 Sept. 49 (advt.) Rich autumn colours like wine, mole and teak.

Compounds

C1. Similative.
mole-colour adj.
ΘΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [noun] > brownish grey
minim1632
Portland stone1633
stone-colour1663
nut-grey1797
stone tint1833
stone1848
moleskin colour1903
mole-colour1906
mole1908
taupe1911
1906 Westm. Gaz. 13 Oct. 13/1 The neutral tones, mole-colour and grey.
1993 D. Marcus Land not Theirs (BNC) 102 The black wings and running-board set off the sober mole colour of the body.
mole-blue adj.
Π
1920 Chambers's Jrnl. July 455/1 The fur varies in shade from mole-blue to hare-brown.
mole-coloured adj.
Π
1766 Pennsylvania Gaz. 14 Aug. 4/2 (advt.) Samuel Evans..had on, when he went away, a Beaver Hat, blue Cloath Coat, Mole coloured Velvet Jacket and Breeches.
1861 Atlantic Monthly Feb. 153/2 His cream-white Panama hat..sat..upon the closely cropped, mole-colored head of the wearer.
1982 A. Barr & P. York Official Sloane Ranger Handbk. 44/1 Mud-coloured worsted, cut slim, with mole-coloured velvet collar (optimal).
mole-grey adj.
ΘΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [adjective] > brownish grey
bice1330
butternut1772
stone-coloured1772
stone1848
ficelle-coloured1882
oatmeal1885
moleskin-coloured1903
browny-grey1905
mole-grey1906
mole1908
stony1910
taupe1911
1906 Daily Chron. 15 Oct. 8/2 A simple skirt in mole-grey velveteen.
C2.
a.
† mole-bank n. Obsolete = molehill n. 1.
ΚΠ
1672 M. Atkins Cataplus 71 They came on t'other side o'th' hill: In Valley at the foot of it, Anchises did on Mole-bank sit, Musing in melancholly sort.
1733 W. Ellis Chiltern & Vale Farming xxxviii. 323 To plough or cut up his Ant-hills, or Mole-banks.
1744 W. Ellis Mod. Husbandman Mar. 118 By this time, the Mole-banks are fittest to be crushed down.
mole bean n. [named in allusion to its supposed repellent or toxic properties to moles] U.S. regional the castor-oil bean, Ricinus communis.
ΚΠ
1836 Farmers' Reg. Sept. 288 [The] castor bean plant, sometimes known by the name of mole plant.]
1939 These are our Lives (Federal Writers' Project, U.S.) 376 Nothing left now but that old hanging basket of moss and them mole beans. Caster beans, some calls them.
2000 Tenneseean (Nexis) 17 Sept. h1 They are commonly called a mole bean. They were placed in the mole run in the mistaken belief that moles would eat the seeds and be poisoned by them.
mole-blind adj. [compare early modern Dutch molblind, molleblind] extremely short-sighted (chiefly figurative).
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of eye > disordered vision > [adjective] > having dimness or poor vision
darkOE
dima1220
bissona1250
murka1300
mistedc1450
obfuscatec1487
spurblind1508
sand-blind1538
dim-sighted1561
blinking1568
dimmed1590
weak-sighteda1591
purblind1592
sand-eyed1592
thick-eyed1598
left-eyed1609
mole-eyed1610
blindish1611
mole-sighted1625
sanded1629
veiled1633
weak-eyed1645
scotomatical1656
mole-blinda1660
swimming1697
wavering1842
foggy1847
scotomatous1866
clouding1868
wall-eyed1873
a1660 in J. T. Gilbert Contemp. Hist. Ireland (1880) II. 98 How are the Irish soe mould-blinde that they canot see those abuses.
1746 A. Hill Free Thoughts upon Faith 2 How dare O'erweening, mole-blind, Furro'wers of dark Earth Engross, to their low Selves, their God's whole Care?
1848 J. R. Lowell Fable for Critics (ed. 2) 28 There are persons, mole-blind to the soul's make and style, Who insist on a likeness 'twixt him and Carlyle.
mole-blindedly adv. figurative in a short-sighted or obtuse manner.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of eye > disordered vision > [adverb] > of dimness or poor vision
darklya1398
mistilya1634
mole-blindedly1882
1882 C. F. Woolson Anne 502 As the prosecution mole-blindedly averred.
mole-cast n. a molehill.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > [noun] > order Insectivora > family Talpidae > genus Talpa (mole) > molehill
mole-heapc1400
molehillc1450
want-hillc1450
mouldwarp hill?c1475
mole-hillock1523
mole-bank1672
mole-cast1707
moley hill1899
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (1721) I. 330 An Instrument much used in the West Country for the spreading of Mole casts.
1880 Daily Tel. 9 Dec. 7/3 A fresh mole-cast, apparently just thrown up.
mole ditch n. = mole drain n.
ΚΠ
1860 Sci. Amer. 11 Feb. 101/2 I am now using one the underground or mole ditches with great success.
1871 Trans. Illinois State Agric. Soc. 1869–70 8 83 The sloughs have all been underdrained with mole ditches.
mole-ditching n. = mole-draining n.
ΚΠ
1860 Sci. Amer. 4 Aug. 92/1 An Improved Mole Ditching Machine.
1868 14th Ann. Rep. Iowa State Agric. Soc. 1867 154 Under-draining by mole-ditching has been tried.
mole-earth n. = mole-hole n.; in quot. 1869 apparently: = molehill n. 1.
Π
1869 R. F. Burton Explor. Highlands Brazil I. i. 28 Hills like mole-earth, tumulous in shape.
1904 Westm. Gaz. 26 Nov. 16/1 There are some interesting diagrams of mole-earths.
mole eye n. an eye with very limited vision; an eye closed up (against bright light, etc.) so as to resemble that of a mole; also figurative; cf. mole-eyed adj.
Π
1629 N. Carpenter Achitophel (1640) iii. 149 The child of nature, whose mole eyes..can hardly pierce so farre as its own spheare.
1845 Amer. Whig Rev. Oct. 392 Peering into the fact with the mole-eye of analysis.
1872 G. MacDonald Princess & Goblin xix. 188 It was only when the sun was away that the outside of the mountain was sufficiently like their own dismal regions to be endurable to their mole-eyes.
1898 Cent. Mag. Jan. 458 It bein' chronicle, as anybody ken see with mole eyes.
† mole-grains n. Obsolete rare a fork used to spear moles (in quot. 1658 construed as a singular; see grain n.2 5).
ΚΠ
1658 J. Evelyn tr. N. de Bonnefons French Gardiner 100 They are destroyed likewise with Mole-graines, which is a set of sharp Iron points, skrewed upon a staffe.
mole plant n. U.S. the caper spurge, Euphorbia lathyris, reputed to protect garden plants from moles; (gen.) any plant reputed to repel moles.
ΚΠ
1814 F. Pursh Flora Amer. Septentrionalis II. 607 Euphorbia... Lathyris... It is generally known in America by the name of Mole-plant, it being supposed that no moles disturb the ground where this plant grows.
1893 Cornell Univ. Agric. Exper. Station Bull. No. 61. 333 If the public is at all inclined to buy a mole-plant it would have been persuaded much more by the long tradition of its virtues than by any consequential statement of its value.
1936 T. H. Scheffer Rodents & Moles as Pests in Bulb Plantings 9 The so-called ‘mole plants’—castor-bean, milkweed, and others—have been more celebrated in oft-told tales than effective in actual service in keeping moles away from gardens.
1995 Nichols Garden Nursery 6/1 (advt.) Mole plant... Also called caper spurge and gopher plant.
mole-run n. a tunnel dug or used by a mole.
Π
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm I. 604 A small opening in the soil..in the form of a mole-run.
1988 B. Smithson Rabbiting (BNC) 95 They [sc. weasels] much prefer to do their hunting underground in mole-run systems.
† mole seeker n. Obsolete = mole-taker n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > hunter of specific animal > [noun] > of moles
mole seeker?1518
mole-taker?1518
want-catcher1533
want-killer1533
want-taker1533
mole-catcher1573
wanter1657
mowdie-man1824
mowdie1828
molie1871
moler1886
?1518 Cocke Lorelles Bote sig. B.vjv Harde waremen, mole sekers, and ratte takers.
mole-sighted adj. having very limited vision (literal and figurative).
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of eye > disordered vision > [adjective] > having dimness or poor vision
darkOE
dima1220
bissona1250
murka1300
mistedc1450
obfuscatec1487
spurblind1508
sand-blind1538
dim-sighted1561
blinking1568
dimmed1590
weak-sighteda1591
purblind1592
sand-eyed1592
thick-eyed1598
left-eyed1609
mole-eyed1610
blindish1611
mole-sighted1625
sanded1629
veiled1633
weak-eyed1645
scotomatical1656
mole-blinda1660
swimming1697
wavering1842
foggy1847
scotomatous1866
clouding1868
wall-eyed1873
1625 E. Davies Warning to Dragon ix. 48 Death vnstop thine Adders eares from whose Mole-sighted eyes, the light of Repentance is hid.
1813 J. Quincy in Life (1867) 285 It is now apparent to the most mole-sighted.
1845 Amer. Whig Rev. Nov. 475/1 Is the next attempt to be of the old mole-sighted, manipulating, mischief-making character?
† mole-spade n. Obsolete a spade used for digging out and killing moles.
Π
1416 in W. Hudson Rec. City of Norwich (1906) I. 320 (MED) [William Coteham with a spade called a] molspade [struck William a mortal blow].
1587 L. Mascall Bk. Cattell (1596) 291 Then take your mole-spade and cast her vp.
1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. C3v Poore Menaphon neither asked his swaynes for his sheepe, nor tooke his mole-spade on his necke to see his pastures.
1640 J. Shirley Arcadia ii. sig. D2 Sitting beneath an oake that shall be namelesse I chanc'd to turne up some turff with my mole-spade.
† mole-spear n. Obsolete a spear used to kill moles.
Π
1573 T. Tusser Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) f. 15v Sharp mowl spare wt barbs, yt the mowle do so rue.
1617–18 W. Lawson New Orchard & Garden (1623) xiii. 47 You must watch her well with a Mole-speare.
1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ 210 Mold-spears and Traps.
† mole-staff n. Obsolete a staff used to club moles.
Π
1587 L. Mascall Bk. Cattell (1596) 289 Be readie with your mole-staffe to strike at the first..putting up the earth.
1630 in N. W. Alcock People at Home (1993) vii. 126 An ax, a bill, a moulstaff, three forkes,..with other such ymplementes.
† mole-stone n. Obsolete rare a stone of a particular character regarded as an amulet (cf. toadstone n.1).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > enchantment or casting spells > [noun] > charm or amulet > stone or gem
adder-stone1587
sea-bean1607
mole-stone1699
scarabaeus1775
hag stone1787
gamahec1796
holy-stone1825
scarab1878
1699 E. Lhuyd Let. 15 Dec. in R. T. Gunther Early Sci. Oxf. (1945) XIV. 419 These amulets [of the Druids]..may be rendered in English; Snake-buttons or Adderstones, Cock-knee-stones, toad-stones, Snail-stones, & Mole-stones.
mole-taker n. now historical a person employed to trap and kill moles.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > hunter of specific animal > [noun] > of moles
mole seeker?1518
mole-taker?1518
want-catcher1533
want-killer1533
want-taker1533
mole-catcher1573
wanter1657
mowdie-man1824
mowdie1828
molie1871
moler1886
?1518 Cocke Lorelles Bote sig. B.iijv With Ielyan Ioly at sygne of the bokeler And mores moule taker.
1664 in D. Yaxley Researcher's Gloss. Hist. Documents E. Anglia (2003) 133 To a moletaker of Newton Feb: 1 for taking of six dozen moles.
1720 Present State Brit. Court 38/2 Mole-taker. Sal. 8l. per Ann.
1808 J. Strutt Queen-hoo Hall i. 30 The baron's domestics had assembled round Morris the mole-taker, who was esteemed the best wrestler at Tewin.
1990 P. J. Bowden Chapters Agrarian Hist. Eng. & Wales I. i. 90 On the earl of Middlesex's estates in the 1630's a ‘mole taker’ was a permanent member of the labour force.
2015 C. C. Otnes & P. Maclaran Royal Fever 168 In 1775, a dispute broke out between two parties as to which deserved the title ‘Bug Destroyer to Her Majesty’. (Apparently, the titles of Royal Rat-Catcher and Royal Mole-Taker were undisputed.)
† mole-tine n. Obsolete a spike or spear used to kill moles.
Π
1676 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 11 633 They strike with an Instrument of Iron somewhat like Mole-tines.
mole-track n. a tunnel dug or used by a mole; (also) a slight ridge of raised earth on the surface of the ground, indicating a mole's tunnel below.
Π
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 174 Traps should be laid about half a Foot deep in the Mole-Tracks.
1839 H. Ellison Madmoments (new ed.) II. 129 That selfish prudence..which 'mong the Sons of Men doth bear The name of Wisdom, tho' it scarcely throw Light on the narrow circle of its own Moletrack.
1875 Scribner's Monthly May 58/2 Even a mole-track may be the beginning of an inundation that will soon destroy the whole.
† mole-tract n. Obsolete rare = mole-track n.
ΚΠ
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (1721) I. 318 A deep Earthen Vessel set in the ground, with the brim even with the bottom of the Mole-tracts.
mole trap n. any of various kinds of trap placed along the course of a mole-run to catch (and, in most cases, kill) moles.
Π
1655 R. Child in S. Hartlib Legacy (ed. 3) 91 A Moal-trap which the Gardiners frequently use about London.
1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville Theory & Pract. Gardening 174 The surest way to catch them, is by..Boxes, or Cases, called Mole-Traps, made of Elder-Boughs slit in two.
1867 Sci. Amer. 2 Nov. 279/2 This invention relates to an improved mole trap, and consists in a pair of forks pressed together by a spring.
1969 E. H. Pinto Treen 175 Mole traps were usually all iron and of the downward thrusting fork type.
1982 R. Anderson Poacher's Son (1984) x. 92 He didn't use the mole-trap.
mole-tree n. U.S. (now rare) = mole plant n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Euphorbiaceae (spurges and allies) > [noun]
catapucec1386
Euphorbiaa1398
spurgea1400
tithymala1400
faitour's grassc1440
cat's-grassc1450
nettlewort1523
essell1527
lint-spurge1548
sea wartwort1548
spurge thyme1548
line-spurge1562
myrtle spurge1562
sun spurge1562
wolf's-milk1575
cypress tithymal1578
devil's milk1578
mercury1578
sea-spurge1597
sun tithymal1597
welcome to our house1597
wood-spurge1597
Euphorbium1606
milk-reed1611
milkwort1640
sun-turning spurge1640
spurge-wort1647
caper-bush1673
Portland spurge1715
milkweed1736
Medusa's head1760
little-good1808
welcome-home-husband1828
three-seeded mercury1846
cat's-milk1861
turnsole1863–79
mole-tree1864
snow-on-the-mountain1873
seven sisters1879
caper-plant1882
asthma herb1887
mountain snow1889
crown of thorns1890
olifants melkbos1898
1864 A. Wood Class-bk. Bot. (rev. ed.) iv. 626 Euphorbia Lathyris..Mole-tree. Caper Spurge.
1899 Animal & Plant Lore 119 ‘Caper-tree’, or ‘mole-tree’,..is supposed to keep moles out of flower-beds.
1940 W. N. Clute Amer. Plant Names 99 E. lathyrus... Mole-plant, mole-tree.
mole trousers n. now rare trousers made of moleskin; = sense 7.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for legs > clothing for legs and lower body > [noun] > trousers > types of > made from specific material
shiverines1663
nankeen1770
overall1782
corduroys1791
ducks1825
webs1825
kerseys1833
moleskin1836
cord1837
kerseymeres1840
blue jeans1842
grey1860
mole trousers1860
chaparreras1861
Bedford cord1862
velveteens1862
dungarees1872
moles1879
chaps1884
chaparejos1887
oiler1889
greyers1900
flannels1911
Levi's1926
denim1932
chino1943
wrangler1947
Bedfords1954
sweats1956
sweatpants1957
1860 Northern Star (Kapunda) 26 May 1/3 Men's Mole Trousers at 4s. 6d.
1890 Times 16 Sept. 10/4 The missing man..was wearing..dark gray waistcoat, white mole trousers.
b. In the names of animals.
mole crab n. a crab of the superfamily Hippoidea, whose members are often buried in sand at the shoreline, esp. one of the genus Emerita.
Π
1942 Ecol. Monogr. 12 145/1 (heading) A typical sand beach animal, the mole crab, Emerita talpoida (Say).
1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 29 May 32 Another misnamed inhabitant of the littoral zone is the mole crab.
1998 Bull. Marine Sci. 63 11 Some population characteristics of a little known mole crab Hippa adactyla Fabricius from the sandy intertidal habitat of Kavaratti atoll, Lakshadweep islands, were studied.
mole-cricket n. [compare early modern Dutch molkrekel, post-classical Latin gryllotalpa gryllotalpa n.] an insect of the orthopteran family Gryllotalpidae, comprising large, burrowing nocturnal animals the female of which tends her eggs and young in an underground nest; esp. the European Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > subclass Pterygota > [noun] > division Exopterygota or Hemimetabola > order Orthoptera > family Gryllotalpidae > member of genus Gryllotalpa
eve-churr1634
churr-worm1668
fen-cricket1678
mole-cricket1686
mole1714
gryllotalpa1791
1686 Philos. Trans. 1685 (Royal Soc.) 15 1246 Others imitate that action, and are here cal'd Ruminantia Spuria, as the Mole-cricket, Bee, Beetle..and several Birds.
1713 W. Derham Physico-theol. iv. xiii. 233 The Mole-Cricket (Gryllotalpa).
1770 G. White Jrnl. 16 May (1970) iii. 26 Mole-cricket churs.
1878 J. Todhunter Alcestis 18 In the glowing leas The shy mole-cricket shrilled.
1952 E. F. Davies Illyrian Venture xi. 210 Watching a mole cricket burrowing into the hard ground with its strong shield and powerful legs.
1989 New Scientist 25 Feb. 70/3 This book and the accompanying sound recordings confirm that he was describing the mole-cricket Gryllotalpa gryllotalpa.
mole-diver n. English regional the little grebe, Tachybaptus ruficollis.
ΚΠ
1887 A. C. Smith Birds Wilts. 505 In Sussex it [sc. the Little Grebe] is called the ‘Mole Diver’.
mole hog-louse n. rare a small marine crustacean, Apseudes talpa, of the malacostracan order Tanaidacea.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Crustacea > [noun] > subclass Malacostraca > division Arthostraca > order Isopoda > miscellaneous types
cheslock1574
millipede1612
hog-louse1702
mole hog-louse1850
tanaid1893
1850 A. White List Specim. Crustacea Brit. Mus. 67 Apseudes talpa, Mole Hog-louse.
mole salamander n. any of various salamanders of the North American family Ambystomatidae, whose members have a broad sturdy head and spend much of their life underground; spec. Ambystoma talpoideum.
Π
1917 L. Stejneger & T. Barbour Check List N. Amer. Amphibians & Reptiles 11 Ambystoma talpoideum. Mole salamander.
1958 R. Conant Field Guide Reptiles & Amphibians U.S. 208 Mole salamanders: family Ambystomidae. Like moles, these amphibians stay underground most of their lives. But during the breeding season they congregate in numbers for courtship and deposition of eggs.
1992 New Scientist 27 June 27/2 Researchers caught up to 2500 female mole salamanders (Ambystoma talpoideum), for example, in some years, but less than 500 in others.
mole snake n. either of two brownish non-venomous colubrid snakes that burrow underground or inhabit abandoned burrows: (a) Pseudaspis cana, a large snake of southern and eastern Africa; (b) U.S. a prairie kingsnake of the subspecies Lampropeltis calligaster rhombomaculata.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > reptiles > order Squamata (lizards and snakes) > suborder Ophidia (snakes) > types of snake > [noun] > family Colubridae > miscellaneous types of
grey snake1703
garter-snake1775
boomslang1793
scarlet snake1842
blunt head1869
tiger-snake1869
house snake1870
ground-snake1885
lycodont1887
mole snake1893
sling-snake1895
file snake1912
mussurana1914
1893 J. Noble Illustr. Official Handbk. Cape & S. Afr. 84 The Colubrinæ include the large and abundant ‘black’ or ‘mole’ snake.
1911 East London Daily Disp. (S. Afr.) 1 Sept. 7 When alarmed the mole snake is very pugnacious.
1958 R. Conant Field Guide Reptiles & Amphibians U.S. 167 The Prairie Kingsnake and the Mole Snake are marked with brown or reddish-brown blotches.
1966 E. Palmer Plains of Camdeboo xiii. 220 Sometimes we see a long, graceful, chinless snake in the veld, with a dark muscular body shining as if carefully polished. This is the mole snake and is harmless to man, killing its prey by constriction.
1994 R. Bauchot Snakes 136/1 Gradated vegetal formations in southern Africa shelter the mole snake (Pseudaspis cana), which is terrestrial and has burrowing tendencies.

Derivatives

† moleism n. Obsolete a mole-like character.Apparently only in the writings of Anna Seward.
Π
1787 A. Seward Let. 5 Dec. (1811) I. 377 Darwin is a mole to Milton, and that you will say is indeed a molism.
1796 A. Seward Lett. (1811) IV. 189 She, not aware of his moleism, relied upon it that all was well.
ˈmolewise adv.
Π
1833 T. Carlyle Diderot in Misc. Ess. (1872) V. 30 He digs unweariedly, molewise, in the Encyclopaedic field.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

molen.4

Brit. /məʊl/, U.S. /moʊl/
Forms: late Middle English moole, late Middle English– mole, 1600s moale.
Origin: Either (i) a borrowing from French. Or (ii) a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French môle; Latin mola.
Etymology: < Middle French môle (1372; French môle ) or its etymon classical Latin mola (see mola n.1).
Medicine.
An abnormal mass within the uterus, spec. one formed as a result of the death and degeneration of the fetus early in gestation or by the proliferation of trophoblast; (also) the formation of such a mass as a pathological process. Frequently with distinguishing word. Cf. mola n.1 1.hydatidiform mole: see hydatid n. and adj. Derivatives.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disorders of pregnancy or birth > [noun] > false conception or pregnancy
molaa1398
mole?c1425
maw mother?c1475
mooncalf1565
whetstone1580
cushion1600
false conception1601
pseudocyesis1859
pseudopregnancy1860
?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 531 (MED) The mole is a gobat of flesche gendred in þe moder.
1583 P. Barrough Methode of Phisicke iii. lviii. 153 (heading) Of the mole in the matrice.
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 324 Some there be who have beene knowen to gather in their wombe a rude masse or lump..which some call a Mole.
1615 H. Crooke Μικροκοσμογραϕια 298 The Coagmentation therefore of the Mole is neuer made without copulation.
a1617 P. Baynes Lectures 117 in Comm. First & Second Chapters Colossians (1634) Living births are strangers here, moales and abortives are otherwise.
1771 Philos. Trans. 1770 (Royal Soc.) 60 382 Those large clots which..have often been called moles or false conceptions.
1802 E. Forster tr. Arab. Nights V. 402 They showed a piece of wood, which they falsely affirmed to be a mole, of which the sultana had been delivered.
1881 Trans. Obstetr. Soc. 22 44 The patient..had not menstruated... A fortnight afterwards the mole..was expelled.
1949 H. W. C. Vines Green's Man. Pathol. (ed. 17) xxxvi. 1035 In cases of abortion in the early months, the products of conception may be extruded entire as a red mass of fibrin and clot called a blood-mole; or the blood may have hæmolysed to some extent, forming a paler mass or fleshy mole.
1961 R. D. Baker Essent. Pathol. xvii. 473 Bleeding may develop, with the expulsion of a mass (mole) of grapelike vesicles (hydatids).
1985 M. F. Myles Textbk. Midwives (ed. 10) x. 174 If the mole becomes detached from the uterine wall the uterus may be normal in size.
2000 Internat. Jrnl. Gynaecol. & Obstetr. 69 149 We report a case of partial mole presenting with a 22 weeks live fetus and preeclampsia.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

† molen.5

Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin mola.
Etymology: < classical Latin mola salt-cake (see mola n.1), frequently in mola salsa.
Roman History. Obsolete.
A cake made of grains of spelt coarsely ground and mixed with salt, which was customarily crumbled and strewn on the victims at sacrifices.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > consumables > cake > [noun]
molea1547
simnel1599
soul-mass cake1661
simlin1836
Haman's ears1846
Shrewsbury simnel1883
a1547 Earl of Surrey tr. Virgil Fourth Bk. Aeneas (1554) iv. sig. Dii She wyth the Mole all in her handes deuout Stoode neare the aulter.
1621 J. Molle tr. P. Camerarius Liuing Libr. iii. xviii. 206 This mole, lumpe, or seasoned dough.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals viii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 39 Crumble the sacred Mole of Salt and Corn.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online December 2020).

molen.6

Brit. /məʊl/, U.S. /moʊl/
Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymon: French mole.
Etymology: < Middle French mole (1554, in an example in which the word may in fact represent an Occitan word written with Middle French spelling conventions: see further below; French môle ; compare Occitan mòla , Catalan mola , Spanish mola ); explained by Rondelet as < classical Latin mola mola n.1, owing to the fact that the fish is similar in shape to a millstone:1554 G. Rondelet De Piscibus Marinis 425 Massilienses mole vocant a rotunditate, quod molae molendinariae similis sit. Compare earlier molebat n. and discussion at that entry. Sense 2 may perhaps represent an etymologically distinct word.
†1. The ocean sunfish, Mola mola; = mola n.1 2. Cf. molebat n. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > fish > superorder Acanthopterygii (spiny fins) > order Perciformes (perches) > order Tetraodontiformes (puffers) > [noun] > family Molidae (ocean sun-fish) > member of genus Mola
molebat1598
mole1601
sunfisha1630
moonfish1646
mola1678
sun perch1804
ocean sunfish1900
short diodon-
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 249 The Mole or Lepo called Phycis, doth alter her hue.
1661 R. Lovell Πανζωορυκτολογια, sive Panzoologicomineralogia 233 Mole. Mola... The whole Fish is of a ferine savour, and very unpleasant.
2. English regional (Cornwall). The black goby, Gobius niger; the rock goby, G. paganellus.
ΚΠ
1880 T. Q. Couch E. Cornwall Words in M. A. Courtney & T. Q. Couch Gloss. Words Cornwall 93 Mole, the fish, rock goby.
1963 R. M. Nance Gloss. Cornish Sea-words 115 Mole, the black goby, Gobius niger Linn. and the rock goby, Gobius paganellus Linn. (Couch).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

molen.7

Brit. /ˈməʊli/, /ˈməʊleɪ/, U.S. /ˈmoʊleɪ/
Origin: A borrowing from Spanish. Etymon: Spanish mole.
Etymology: < Mexican Spanish mole (1577) < Nahuatl mo:lli sauce, broth, gravy, mole.
Cookery.
A highly spiced Mexican sauce made chiefly from chilli peppers and chocolate and served with various meats, esp. poultry; (also) a dish made with this sauce. Also as postmodifier designating the dish.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > additive > sauce or dressing > [noun] > sauces for meat
sauce Robert1653
Robert sauce1694
mint sauce1747
wow-wow sauce1822
salsa1846
Madeira sauce1872
Cumberland1878
mole1882
chaudfroid1892
smetana (or smitane) sauce1909
mint jelly1922
pasanda1961
chimichurri1967
1882 Daily Evening Bull. (San Francisco) 7 Feb. 4/4 One national dish of which chicken or turkey is the base is called ‘mole’.
1891 Harper's Mag. Jan. 234 With a little sigh for the pulque that fitly and deliciously belongs with mole, but that is a delight unobtainable outside of Mexico, they would drink to each other in deep draughts of..wine.
1901 E. B. Tweedie Mexico as I saw It 247 The more wary housekeeper takes her turkey into the patio, feeds it for a week, and only puts it into ‘mole’, stew with chilli, when plump and fat.
1927 Amer. Mercury Jan. 120/1 The mole or turkey poblano, enchilidias and Mexican tortillas at Fornos'.
1935 T. G. Turner in Los Angeles Times 2 Dec. a1 The little cafes..in the Mexican districts of Los Angeles have all these dishes and many more, tacos and menudo and the fiery mole.
1948 Sat. Evening Post 2 Oct. 52/3 Señora Gonzalez does her stuff on such fabulous and sustaining dishes as chicken mole—boiled chicken bathed in a sauce of exotic Mexican spices, cinnamon, chili, mashed-up peanuts and even a dash of chocolate [etc.].
1966 Punch 9 Mar. 364/2 We were..sated with rich turkey mole.
1992 R. Rodriguez Days of Obligation iv. 105 There are caldrons of congealed brown mole.
2001 Outside Oct. 60/1 We needed time to reflect, to get ourselves some mole and some mescal and put some perspective on the long swirl of epochs.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

molen.8

Brit. /məʊl/, U.S. /moʊl/
Forms: 1900s– mol (now usually as an abbreviation), 1900s– mole.
Origin: A borrowing from German. Etymon: German Mol.
Etymology: < German Mol ( W. Ostwald Hand- und Hilfsbuch zur Ausführung physiko-chemischer Messungen (1893) viii. 119), shortened < Molekül molecule n. Compare French mole (1900 as mol).Compare quots. 1867, 1893 at mole n.2 1 and discussion at that entry.
Physical Chemistry.
A unit of measurement of the amount of any particular substance, originally defined with reference to mass and molecular or atomic weight and now one of the base units in the International System of Units; symbol mol. Also: the quantity of any particular type of molecule, atom, etc., comprising this.The mole was originally defined as the amount of any particular substance having a mass in grams numerically the same as its molecular or atomic weight, and later as the amount containing the same number of molecules, atoms, etc., as there are atoms in twelve grams of the isotope carbon-12. In 2018 the General Conference on Weights and Measures agreed that the mole would, from May of the following year, be defined as the amount of substance containing exactly 6.02214076 × 1023 (the value of Avogadro's constant) molecules, atoms, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > units or measurements > [noun] > moles
mole1902
1902 A. Findlay tr. W. Ostwald Princ. Inorg. Chem. viii. 156 When one gram-molecule or one mole (the molar or molecular weight of a substance expressed in grams) of any substance is dissolved in a litre or 1000 gm. of water, the solution produced freezes at −1·850°.
1971 G. D. Christian Analyt. Chem. i. 8 Each mole of silver ion will react with one mole of chloride ion.
1979 Sci. Amer. May 107/3 The carbon dioxide laser, the workhorse of the industry, can conservatively deliver a mole of photons (6.02 × 1023 photons) for a total cost of three cents.
2019 N. J. Tro Chem. in Focus (ed. 7) iv. 95 12 moles of H2O molecules contain 24 moles of H atoms.

Compounds

mole fraction n. the ratio of the number of moles of a component in a solution or mixture to the total number of moles of all components present.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > units or measurements > [noun] > moles > mole fraction
mole fraction1923
1923 G. N. Lewis & M. Randall Thermodynamics xxii. 261 The mol fraction of bromine in a solution containing 160 grams bromine and 154 grams carbon tetrachloride is ½ if we are considering the formula Br2.
1949 J. R. Partington Adv. Treat. Physical Chem. I. vii. 721 Fugacities in mixtures may be calculated on the assumption that the fugacity is equal to the mol fraction times the fugacity of the pure gas.
1973 A. W. Adamson Textbk. Physical Chem. ix. 345 The partial pressure of a component becomes proportional to its mole fraction in the limit of zero concentration.
1995 Nature 10 Aug. 469/2 Methyl bromide exists in today's atmosphere at a mole fraction of around 10 parts per trillion.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

Molen.9adj.2

Brit. /ˈməʊleɪ/, U.S. /ˈmoʊleɪ/
Forms: 1900s– Mole, 1900s– Moli.
Origin: A borrowing from Mooré. Etymon: Mooré Mole.
Etymology: < Mooré Mole, older colonial transliteration (especially in Ghana) of Mõõre Mooré n.2 and adj. (r and l being allophones of the same phoneme). Compare German Mole (1913).
A. n.9
= Mooré n.2Now chiefly in Mole–Dagbani: see Mole–Dagbani adj. and n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > languages of the world > African languages > Niger-Kordofanian > [noun] > Niger-Congo > Niger-Congo proper languages > Voltaic > Voltaic languages
Mole1918
Tallensi1952
Mooré1961
1918 R. S. Rattray Elem. Mōle Gram. p. xviii Mōle (the language has hitherto been spoken of, and written as ‘Moshi’, but this is wrong, ‘Moshi’ is the plural of Moaga and means Moshi men) falls under that group of languages which are classed as agglutinative.
1935 Man 35 127/2 No proof is offered..that the Moshi language called Moli is connected with the Roman name for certain Berber-speaking peoples, viz., Mauri.
1992 Internat. Encycl. Ling. I. 241/1 Mooré... Also called Mossi, Moré, Mole, and Moshi.
B. adj.2
= Mooré adj.
ΚΠ
1918 R. S. Rattray Elem. Mōle Gram. (title) An elementary Mōle grammar.
1945 M. Fortes Dynamics of Clanship among Tallensi i. 6 From Zuarungu northwards Mole influence is linguistically dominant.
1950 Man 50 90/1 All this..provides data for linguistic comparisons..with the Mole languages and the secret language of the Waongo dancers of the Mossi.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

Molen.10

Brit. /məʊl/, U.S. /moʊl/
Forms: 1900s– Mole, 1900s– mole.
Origin: From a proper name. Etymon: proper name Mole.
Etymology: < the name of M. Mole & Son, of Birmingham, England, the company which originally manufactured the tool and registered the trademark.
A proprietary name for: a self-locking wrench or clamp. Frequently in Mole grip, Mole wrench.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > screwdrivers, wrenches, spanners > [noun] > spanner or wrench > other spanners or wrenches
tap wrench1815
doghook1847
stock1862
stud box1867
socket wrench1905
Allen key1910
wheel brace1920
tongs1922
nut driver1939
spud wrench1939
torque wrench1948
nut runner1958
Mole1959
skate key1962
1959 Trade Marks Jrnl. 3 June 572/2 Mole... Wrenches (hand tools)..—17th February, 1958.
1960 E. L. Delmar-Morgan Cruising Yacht Equipm. & Navigation xiv. 162 A good big Stillson and a small ‘Mole’ self-grip... As for the little ‘Mole’, there is no tool more useful.
1975 Drive New Year 28/1 Lying under the car was a molegrip. It had held the wing to the body, and had fallen off.
1977 Reader's Digest Bk. Do-It-Yourself Skills & Techniques vi. 177 Mole wrenches can substitute for other spanners and wrenches.
1996 Cycle Touring & Campaigning Apr. 31/3 My kit still has a small mole wrench, rivet extractor, spoke key and cone spanner in its complement.
This is a new entry (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

molev.1

Brit. /məʊl/, U.S. /moʊl/
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: mole n.1
Etymology: < mole n.1
transitive. To spot, stain; to cover with moles or other blemishes. Only in passive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > dirtiness > dirt > soiled condition > soil [verb (transitive)] > stain
mealeOE
litc1230
beblotc1374
depaintc1374
entachc1374
stain1382
tache1390
wem1398
molec1400
blob1429
blotc1440
imbruec1450
maculate?a1475
thorough-stain1593
commaculatec1616
stigmatizea1637
tattoo1774
staddle1828
bestain1869
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xiii. 275 He hadde a cote..Ac it was moled in many places with many sondri plottes.
1843 R. H. Horne Orion iii. i. 99 Beardless he was, dwarf-shaped, and delicate, Freckled and moled, with saffron tresses fair.
1949 R. Jarrell Game at Salzburg in Sel. Poems (1955) i. 58 The nymphs look down with the faces of Negroes, Pocked, moled with moss.
1958 A. Ginsberg Amer. Change in Reality Sandwiches (1963) 68 Lincoln's sour black head moled wrinkled, forelocked too.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

molev.2

Brit. /məʊl/, U.S. /moʊl/
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: mole n.3
Etymology: < mole n.3 Compare earlier moling n.
†1.
a. transitive. To free (land) from molehills or moles. Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
1827 E. Mackenzie Descr. & Hist. Acct. Newcastle II. 713 The two noltherds are..also required to scale, mole, and dress the Cow-hill, Moor, and Leazes.
b. intransitive. To eradicate moles. Obsolete. rare.Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries.
ΚΠ
1890 Cent. Dict. Mole, to destroy moles.
2.
a. intransitive. To behave in the manner of a mole; to burrow; to push up earth. Chiefly figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by habits or actions > habits and actions > [verb (intransitive)] > dig or burrow
diga1425
thirl1577
delve1727
burrow1771
bury1841
mole1856
1856 W. G. Simms Eutaw xii. 129 How he snaked, and moled, and cooned,..we need not undertake to narrate.
1935 V. Woolf Diary 15 Apr. (1982) IV. 300 It was the old family grievance moling again; throwing up sudden hills.
1976 G. Vanderhaeghe in Chelsea Jrnl. Nov.–Dec. 290 His father begins to raise the skin off the back, his forearms hidden as the knife moles upward toward the neck.
2010 N.Y. Mag. 5 Apr. 9/5 The machine moles through 26 feet of earth per day, almost three times as much as the explosive-blasting method is capable of.
b. transitive. To burrow or form holes in, as a mole does; to bring out by burrowing or delving. Chiefly figurative. Also intransitive with for.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > find out, discover [verb (transitive)] > as by sifting, teasing, etc.
tozec1450
to pick out1523
to bolt out1545
sift1592
pumpa1637
incern1656
probe1699
mole1856
to winkle out1942
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > make many holes in
riddle1511
mesh1667
colander1715
honeycomb1735
to make a riddle of1749
sieve1839
mole1856
1856 C. Dickens Little Dorrit (1857) i. xxxv. 304 He had felt his way inch by inch, and ‘Moled it out, sir’ (that was Mr. Pancks's expression), grain by grain.
1883 Ogilvie's Imperial Dict. (new ed.) Mole,..to burrow in or form holes in, as a mole; as to mole the earth.
1924 W. M. Raine Troubled Waters vii. 70 Tait would mole out quite enough evidence against him without any additional data supplied by indiscretion.
1932 L. C. Douglas Forgive us our Trespasses xiii. 251 Maybe I'll ask you to mole out further data.
1946 A. K. Green Leavenworth Case 190 Missing links are not so easily found. This has been moled for and moled for, as you are pleased to call our system of investigation.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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