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moil

 - 4 dictionary results

moil

  [moil]
Use moil in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to work hard; drudge.
2. to whirl or churn ceaselessly; twist; eddy.
–verb (used with object)
3. Archaic. to wet or smear.
–noun
4. hard work or drudgery.
5. confusion, turmoil, or trouble.
6. Glassmaking. a superfluous piece of glass formed during blowing and removed in the finishing operation.
7. Mining. a short hand tool with a polygonal point, used for breaking or prying out rock.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME moillen to make or get wet and muddy < MF moillier < VL *molliāre, deriv. of L mollis soft

Related forms:
moiler, noun
moil⋅ing⋅ly, adverb
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To moil
moil   (moil)   
intr.v.   moiled, moil·ing, moils

  1. To toil; slave.

  2. To churn about continuously.

n.  

  1. Toil; drudgery.

  2. Confusion; turmoil.


[Middle English mollen, to soften by wetting, from Old French moillier, from Vulgar Latin *molliāre, from Latin mollia (pānis), the soft part (of bread), from neuter pl. of mollis, soft; see mel-1 in Indo-European roots.]
moil'er n., moil'ing·ly adv.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Word Origin & History

moil 
"to labour in the mire" [Johnson], c.1400, possibly from O.Fr. mouiller "to wet, moisten," from V.L. *molliare, from L. molis "soft."
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Abbreviations & Acronyms
MOIL
Marine Operations and Instrumentation Laboratory
The American Heritage® Abbreviations Dictionary, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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