moil

[moil]

See more synonyms for moil on Thesaurus.com

verb (used without object)

to work hard; drudge.
to whirl or churn ceaselessly; twist; eddy.

verb (used with object)

Archaic. to wet or smear.

noun

hard work or drudgery.
confusion, turmoil, or trouble.
Glassmaking. a superfluous piece of glass formed during blowing and removed in the finishing operation.
Mining. a short hand tool with a polygonal point, used for breaking or prying out rock.

Origin of moil

1350–1400; Middle English moillen to make or get wet and muddy < Middle French moillier < Vulgar Latin *molliāre, derivative of Latin mollis soft

Related formsmoil·er, nounmoil·ing·ly, adverbun·moiled, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for moil

Historical Examples

And why should men toil and moil when they had been the masters of the world?
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola
I'll juist tak' a leuk at the grave, moil, gin ye'll hae an ee on the dog.
Greyfriars Bobby
Eleanor Atkinson
Toil and moil every day from your first breath to your last, and what good does it bring you?
Joyce's Investments
Fannie E. Newberry
Why, then, toil and moil for mere vanities that we must leave behind us?
Bonaparte in Egypt and the Egyptians of To-day
Haji A. Browne
There were people who were rich; people who did not have to toil and moil—people who lived in plenty.
Wang the Ninth
Putnam Weale

British Dictionary definitions for moil

moil

verb

to moisten or soil or become moist, soiled, etc
(intr) to toil or drudge (esp in the phrase toil and moil)

noun

toil; drudgery
confusion; turmoil

Derived Formsmoiler, noun

Word Origin

C14 (to moisten; later: to work hard in unpleasantly wet conditions) from Old French moillier, ultimately from Latin mollis soft

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for moil

v.

"to labour in the mire" [Johnson], c.1400, from Old French moillier "to wet, moisten" (12c., Modern French mouiller), from Vulgar Latin *molliare, from Latin mollis "soft," from PIE *mel- "soft" (see mild). Related: Moiled; moiling.

n.

"toil, labor," 1612, from moil (v.).

moil

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Related Words

Examples from the Web for moil

Historical Examples

And why should men toil and moil when they had been the masters of the world?

I'll juist tak' a leuk at the grave, moil, gin ye'll hae an ee on the dog.

Toil and moil every day from your first breath to your last, and what good does it bring you?

Why, then, toil and moil for mere vanities that we must leave behind us?

There were people who were rich; people who did not have to toil and moil—people who lived in plenty.

moil

Word Origin

Word Origin and History for moil

v.

n.

Origin of moil