mola¹

[moh-luh]

noun, plural (especially collectively) mo·la, (especially referring to two or more kinds or species) mo·las.

any of several thin, silvery fishes of the family Molidae, of tropical and temperate seas.

Compare ocean sunfish.

Origin of mola¹

1595–1605; < Latin: millstone; so called from its shape

mola²

[moh-luh; Spanish maw-lah]

noun, plural mo·las

[moh-luh z; Spanish maw-lahs] /ˈmoʊ ləz; Spanish ˈmɔ lɑs/.

a colorfully appliquéd piece of fabric handcrafted by the Cuna Indian women of the islands in the Gulf of San Blas and used for clothing, decoration, etc.

Origin of mola²

1940–45; < Cuna: clothing, blouse, mola

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

Examples from the Web for mola

Historical Examples

The place where the diligence stopped was a town called Mola di Gaeta.
Rollo in Rome
Jacob Abbott
Left Mola at half-past seven and got here at ten minutes after seven.
The Greville Memoirs
Charles C. F. Greville
If the ascent to Mola is difficult, what can be said of the coming down?
Vistas in Sicily
Arthur Stanley Riggs
The site was doubtless near the Mola and the village Castiglione.
Plutarch's Lives, Volume IV
Aubrey Stewart
These, like the headfish (Mola mola) are protected by a leathery skin.
A Guide to the Study of Fishes, Volume 1 (of 2)
David Starr Jordan

British Dictionary definitions for mola

mola

noun plural -la or -las

another name for sunfish (def. 1)

Word Origin

C17: from Latin, literally: millstone

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 mola

n.1

type of fish, 1670s, from Latin mola, literally "millstone" (see molar). So called because of the fish's shape and rough skin.

n.2

"false conception," c.1600, from Latin mola "false conception," from earlier sense "salt cake;" literally "millstone" (see molar).

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mola2

Origin of mola2

Examples from the Web for mola

Historical Examples

The place where the diligence stopped was a town called Mola di Gaeta.

Left Mola at half-past seven and got here at ten minutes after seven.

If the ascent to Mola is difficult, what can be said of the coming down?

The site was doubtless near the Mola and the village Castiglione.

These, like the headfish (Mola mola) are protected by a leathery skin.