*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of moil

From Middle English mollen (“to soften by wetting”), borrowed from Old French moillier with the same meaning, from Vulgar Latin *molliō, *molliare, from mollis (“soft”).

2 source sectionsExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 2 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Source etymology 1

Original entry ↗
verb

To toil, to work hard. · To churn continually; to swirl. · To defile or dirty.

noun

Hard work. · Confusion, turmoil. · A spot; a defilement.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English mollen (“to soften by wetting”), borrowed from Old French moillier with the same meaning, from Vulgar Latin *molliō, *molliare, from mollis (“soft”).

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

{
  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "mollen",
        "4": "",
        "5": "to soften by wetting"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English mollen (“to soften by wetting”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "moillier",
        "4": ""
      },
      "expansion": "Old French moillier"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "la-vul",
        "3": "*molliō",
        "4": "*molliō, *molliare"
      },
      "expansion": "Vulgar Latin *molliō, *molliare"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "mollen",
      "mollen#Middle_English"
    ],
    [
      "moillier",
      "moillier#Old_French"
    ],
    [
      "*molliō, *molliare",
      "Reconstruction:Latin/mollio"
    ],
    [
      "mollis",
      "mollis#Latin"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To toil, to work hard.",
        "To churn continually; to swirl.",
        "To defile or dirty."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "intransitive",
        "UK",
        "transitive"
      ],
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      "sourceRecordOrdinal": 234744
    },
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "Hard work.",
        "Confusion, turmoil.",
        "A spot; a defilement."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
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}

Source etymology 2

Original entry ↗
noun

The glass circling the tip of a blowpipe or punty, such as the residual glass after detaching a blown vessel, or the lower part of a gather. · The excess material which adheres to the top, base, or rim of a glass object when it is cut or knocked off from a blowpipe or punty, or from the mold-filling process. Typically removed after annealing as part of the finishing process (e.g. scored and snapped off). · The metallic oxide from a blowpipe which has adhered to a glass object.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

Of unclear origin; possibly from French meule or Hebrew מוהל (mohel, “ritual circumciser”), referring to the foreskin-like shape of the unwanted rim.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Borrowed-form mentionmeulefr
  • Borrowed-form mentionמוהלhe · ritual circumciser
Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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  "templates": [
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fr",
        "3": "meule"
      },
      "expansion": "French meule"
    },
    {
      "name": "bor",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "he",
        "3": "מוהל",
        "tr": "mohel",
        "t": "ritual circumciser"
      },
      "expansion": "Hebrew מוהל (mohel, “ritual circumciser”)"
    }
  ],
  "links": [
    [
      "meule",
      "meule#French"
    ],
    [
      "מוהל",
      "מוהל#Hebrew"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
    {
      "pos": "noun",
      "glosses": [
        "The glass circling the tip of a blowpipe or punty, such as the residual glass after detaching a blown vessel, or the lower part of a gather.",
        "The excess material which adheres to the top, base, or rim of a glass object when it is cut or knocked off from a blowpipe or punty, or from the mold-filling process. Typically removed after annealing as part of the finishing process (e.g. scored and snapped off).",
        "The metallic oxide from a blowpipe which has adhered to a glass object."
      ],
      "tags": [
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
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}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for moil →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bW9pbA