- mole
- {{11}}mole (1) spot on skin, O.E. mal "spot, mark, blemish," especially on cloth or linen, from P.Gmc. *mailan "spot, mark" (Cf. O.H.G. meil, Ger. Mal, Goth. mail "wrinkle"), from PIE root *mai- "to stain, defile" (Cf. Gk. miainein "to stain, defile," see MIASMA (Cf. miasma)). Specifically of dark marks on human skin from late 14c.{{12}}mole (2) type of small burrowing mammal (Talpa europea), mid-14c., probably from obsolete MOLDWARP (Cf. moldwarp), lit. "earth-thrower." Spy sense first recorded 1974 in John le Carré (but suggested from early 20c.), from notion of "burrowing." Metaphoric use for "one who works in darkness" is from c.1600.{{12}}mole (3) "breakwater," 1540s, from M.Fr. môle "breakwater" (16c.), ultimately from L. moles "mass, massive structure, barrier," from PIE root *mo- "to exert oneself" (Cf. Gk. molos "effort," molis "hardly, scarcely;" Ger. mühen "to tire," müde "weary, tired;" Rus. majat' "to fatigue, exhaust," maja "hard work").{{13}}mole (4) unit of molecular quantity, 1902, from Ger. Mol coined 1900 by German chemist Wilhelm Ostwald (1853-1912), short for Molekül (see MOLECULE (Cf. molecule)).
Etymology dictionary. 2014.