moly

[moh-lee]

noun, plural mo·lies. Classical Mythology.

an herb given to Odysseus by Hermes to counteract the spells of Circe.

Origin of moly

< Latin mōly < Greek môly

moly

[mol-ee]

noun Informal.

molybdenum.

Origin of moly

by shortening

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for moly

Historical Examples of moly

A plant of moly is in his hand; and this will be the antidote to Circe's philter.
Studies of the Greek Poets (Vol I of 2)
John Addington Symonds
“Moly,” the gods call it, and very hard it is for mortal man to find.
Stories of the Old world
Alfred John Church
Moly seems to have been Allium moly, one of the onion or garlic family.
The Romance of Plant Life
G. F. Scott Elliot
The Colonel did not mean hay; he meant asphodels and amaranth and moly.
Hildegarde's Harvest
Laura E. Richards
Where, then, is a foreign word like moly, which might have reached Homer?
Custom and Myth
Andrew Lang

British Dictionary definitions for moly

moly

noun plural -lies

Greek myth a magic herb given by Hermes to Odysseus to nullify the spells of Circe

a liliaceous plant, Allium moly, that is native to S Europe and has yellow flowers in a dense cluster

Word Origin for moly

C16: from Latin mōly, from Greek mōlu

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 moly

1570s, fabulous magical herb with white flowers and black root, given by Hermes to Odysseus as protection against Circe's sorcery, of unknown origin.