mole1
/məʊl
/
- Family Talpidae: several genera and species, including the European mole (Talpa europaea).
- Although moles feed on beneficial invertebrates as well as lawn pests, they rarely affect the populations of either.
- While bats are highly specialized for flight, they share anatomical characters with the Insectivora, the mammalian taxon that includes shrews and moles.
Synonyms
- There may have been a mole planted by the security services inside the terror cells in the country.
- What about a mole being a double agent who establishes a cover long before beginning espionage?
- That search for the supposed mole within CIA severely damaged the careers of some CIA officers.
Synonyms
- For £50,000 we will finger moles within your organisation.
- One of Asymmetrical Information's moles forwards this item from Businessweek.
- I've good reason to believe there's a mole in our organization.
Origin
Late Middle English: from the Germanic base of Middle Dutch and Middle Low German mol.
English has several unrelated words spelled mole. The oldest refers to a small blemish on the skin; in Old English this meant ‘a discoloured spot on cloth’. Next to appear was the mole that now means ‘a structure serving as a pier, breakwater, or causeway’, which goes back to Latin moles ‘mass’ (the earliest sense in English) which also lies behind demolish (mid 16th century). The mole that is a burrowing animal stayed underground until the later Middle Ages, and went under other names before then—in Old English it was a want, and then also a mouldwarp. The novels of John le Carré popularized the term mole for a spy who gradually achieves an important position within the security defences of a country: it first appeared in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy in 1974. The world of espionage seems to have adopted the use from le Carré, rather than vice versa. See also mountain
Rhymes
mole2
/məʊl/- It's essential that people monitor their moles and skin blemishes and report any changes in them.
- Melanoma first appears as a mole or skin discoloration.
- Although moles do often change slightly over a lifetime, that change should not occur over months or years.
Synonyms
Origin
Old English māl 'discoloured spot', of Germanic origin.
mole3
/məʊl/- To this end, Alexander ordered his engineers to build a mole - a land bridge from the mainland to the island.
- The moles were built to protect Lagos' valuable harbor from the fierce action of the waves and to prevent sand from entering the deeply dredged harbor on the ocean surge.
Synonyms
Origin
Mid 16th century: from French môle, from Latin moles 'mass'.
mole4
/məʊl/- In the decomposition, four moles of nitroglycerin decompose into approximately 30 moles of carbon dioxide, water, nitrogen, and oxygen.
- The number of moles present in any amount of the solution can be calculated by multiplying the molarity by the volume.
Origin
Early 20th century: from German Mol, from Molekul, from Latin (see molecule).
mole5
/məʊl/- No fetal tissue was identified in association with the partial mole.
- Molar pregnancy poses a threat to the pregnant woman when the mole penetrates deep into the uterine wall, which can result in heavy bleeding.
Origin
Late Middle English: from French môle, from Latin mola in the sense 'false conception'.
mole6
/ˈməʊleɪ/- This would be a wonderful side dish to some chicken mole, or even an enchilada.
- Smear chicken pieces generously with mole and bake in a moderate oven, turning once or twice during baking, for about 30 minutes.
Origin
Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl molli 'sauce, stew'.