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mole
mole in proverbial use often referred to as the type of a blind creature. The mole was also toasted by Jacobites as the little gentleman in black velvet, in reference to the death of William III, said to have been caused by a fall from his horse which had stumbled on a molehill (the small mound of earth thrown up by a mole burrowing near the surface).
From the early 1920s, mole has been used allusively to designate a spy who achieves over a long period an important position within the security defences of a country, or someone within an organization who anonymously betrays confidential information. See also make a mountain out of a molehill. |
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Cite this article
ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "mole." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "mole." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-mole.html ELIZABETH KNOWLES. "mole." The Oxford Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O214-mole.html |
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mole
mole, a long pier or breakwater forming part of the sea defences of a port. It can be built either in the form of a detached mole constructed entirely in the sea or with one end of it connected to the shore. The ports of Dover and Gibraltar, for example, are protected by three moles, two of them attached to the shore with a detached mole to seaward, providing an entrance to the harbour at each end of it. In the distant past the word, sometimes written as mole-head, was also used, wrongly, to describe a harbour protected by a mole.
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"mole." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mole." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-mole.html "mole." The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O225-mole.html |
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mole
mole3
A. (stone) pier or breakwater, (hence) harbour ; B. † large mass XVI. — F. môle — It. molo — medGr. môlos, mólos — L. mōlēs shapeless mass, huge bulk (whence sense B), dam, pier. |
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "mole." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "mole." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mole2.html T. F. HOAD. "mole." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mole2.html |
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mole
mole1 † discoloured spot OE.; spot or blemish on the human skin XIV. OE. māl, corr. to MLG. mēl, OHG. meil, meila, Goth. *mail (in g. pl. maile):- Gmc. *mailam, -ōn, whence also OE. mælan, OHG. meilen stain.
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Cite this article
T. F. HOAD. "mole." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. T. F. HOAD. "mole." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mole.html T. F. HOAD. "mole." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. 1996. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O27-mole.html |
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mole
mole n.
1. a large solid structure on a shore serving as a pier, breakwater, or causeway. 2. a harbor formed or protected by such a structure. |
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Cite this article
"mole." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mole." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-mole.html "mole." The Oxford Essential Dictionary of the U.S. Military. 2001. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O63-mole.html |
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mole
mole see birthmark . |
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"mole." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mole." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-mole1.html "mole." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-X-mole1.html |
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mole
mole •barcarole, bole, bowl, cajole, coal, Cole, condole, console, control, dhole, dole, droll, enrol (US enroll), extol, foal, goal, hole, Joel, knoll, kohl, mol, mole, Nicole, parol, parole, patrol, pole, poll, prole, rôle, roll, scroll, Seoul, shoal, skoal, sole, soul, stole, stroll, thole, Tirol, toad-in-the-hole, toll, troll, vole, whole
•Creole
•carriole, dariole
•cabriole • capriole
•aureole, gloriole, oriole
•wassail-bowl • fishbowl • dustbowl
•punchbowl • rocambole • farandole
•girandole • manhole • rathole
•armhole • arsehole • hellhole
•keyhole, kneehole
•peephole
•sinkhole • pinhole • cubbyhole
•hidey-hole • pigeonhole
•eyehole, spyhole
•foxhole
•knothole, pothole
•borehole, Warhol
•porthole • soundhole • blowhole
•stokehole • bolthole • loophole
•lughole, plughole
•chuckhole • buttonhole • bunghole
•earhole • waterhole • wormhole
•charcoal • caracole • Seminole
•pinole
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Cite this article
"mole." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "mole." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-mole.html "mole." Oxford Dictionary of Rhymes. 2007. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O233-mole.html |
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