Lewis & Short

Parsing inflected forms may not always work as expected. If the following does not give the correct word, try Latin Words or Perseus.

mōles, is, f. [prob. for mog-les; root magh-; cf. magnus; Gr. μόχθος, μογεῖν, μόγις; cf.: μοχλός, molīri, molestus; Germ. Mühe], a shapeless, huge, heavy mass, huge bulk.

  1. I. Lit.
    1. A. In gen. (poet.): Chaos, rudis indigestaque moles, Ov. M. 1, 7: vastā se mole moventem Pastorem Polyphemum, Verg. A. 3, 656: taurus et ipsa mole piger, Juv. 12, 12: stetit aequore moles Pinea, i. e. a fleet of large ships, Prop. 4 (5), 6, 19.
    2. B. Esp.
      1. 1. A mass, pile, a cliff or ridge of rock: in mole sedens, Ov. M. 2, 12; 13, 923.
      2. 2. A mass or pile of waves: venti, tantas audetis tollere moles, Verg. A. 1, 134; 5, 790.
      3. 3. A huge, massive structure, esp. of stone; a dam, pier, mole; a foundation, etc. (freq. and class.): molem atque aggerem ab utrāque parte litoris jaciebat, Caes. B. C. 1, 25: moles oppositae fluctibus, moles, Cic. Off. 2, 4, 14; cf. id. Verr. 2, 4, 53, § 118: aditus insulae muniti mirificis molibus, id. Att. 4, 16, 13: exstructa moles opere magnifico, incisaeque litterae, virtutis testes sempiternae, a monument, id. Phil. 14, 12, 33: moles propinqua nubibus, Hor. C. 3, 29, 10: insanae substructionum moles, huge buildings, piles, Cic. Mil. 31, 85; Hor. C. 3, 1, 34: sepulcri moles, i. e. a tomb, Luc. 8, 865: molem aggeris ultra venire, Juv. 16, 26.
      4. 4. A huge engine or machine, used at sieges: velut celsam oppugnat qui molibus urbem, Verg. A. 5, 439.
      5. 5. Warlike apparatus, munitions of war: belli, Tac. H. 1, 61: non alias majore mole concursum, with a greater mass, id. A. 2, 46.
  2. II. Trop.
    1. A. Greatness, might, power, strength, great quantity, heap: moles pugnae, Liv. 26, 6: molem invidiae austinere, Cic. Cat. 1, 9, 23; cf.: moles mali, id. ib. 3, 7, 17: vis consili expers mole ruit suā, Hor. C. 3, 4, 65: rerum, Suet. Aug. 84: fortunae, Tac. A. 15, 52: Herculea, Sil. 12, 143: densā ad muros mole feruntur, a vast crowd, immense body, Verg. A. 12, 575: curarum, multitude, crowd, Tac. A. 12, 66: tantae corporum moles in fugam consternati sunt, Liv. 38, 46, 4.
    2. B. Difficulty, labor, trouble: transveham naves haud magnā mole, without great difficulty, Liv. 25, 11: tantae molis erat Romanam condere gentem, so much labor did it cost, Verg. A. 1, 33: Corbuloni plus molis adversus ignaviam militum, quam, etc., Tac. A. 13, 35.

mōlīmentum, i, n. [molior], a great exertion, effort, endeavor, attempt, undertaking (good prose, but not in Cic.): magno cum molimento procedunt, Sisenn. ap. Non. 142, 5: neque se exercitum sine magno commeatu atque molimento in unum locum contrahere posse, * Caes. B. G. 1, 34, 3: motam certe sede suā parvi molimenti adminiculis, by machines of little power, Liv. 5, 22: eo minoris molimenti ea claustra esse, would cost the less labor, id. 37, 14: rex magni molimenti est, that has a great spirit of enterprise, Sen. Cons. ad Marc. 11, 3.

mōlĭo, īre, 4 (act. collat. form of molior).

  1. I. To build, erect (post-Aug.): neque quis quid molit, S. C. ap. Front. Aquaed. 129.
  2. II. In a pass. signif., to set in motion, start: jam sospitatricis deae peculiaris pompa moliebatur, App. M. 11, p. 261, 8.

mōlĭor, ītus, 4 (inf. molirier for moliri, Lucr. 5, 934), v. dep. n. and a. [moles].

  1. I. Neutr.
    1. A. To set one’s self or one’s powers in motion, to make exertions, exert one’s self, to endeavor, struggle, strive, toil, etc. (rare but class.; syn.: conor, nitor): viden ut misere moliuntur? Plaut. Curc. 1, 3, 32: agam per me ipse et moliar, Cic. Fam. 6, 10, 2: nōsti mores mulierum: Dum moliuntur, dum comuntur, annus est, Ter. Heaut. 2, 2, 11: horam amplius jam in demoliendo signo permulti homines moliebantur, Cic. Verr. 2, 4, 43, § 95.
    2. B. To set one’s self in motion, endeavor to depart, to depart: molientem hinc Hannibalem, Liv. 28, 44: dum naves moliuntur a terra, id. 37, 11: in quam (insulam) gladiatores navibus molientes, Tac. H. 2, 35.
  2. II. Act.
    1. A. To labor upon any thing, exert one’s self at or upon, set in motion, work an instrument or engine; to work any thing (cf. ago; class.).
      1. 1. Nihil enim agit (vita deorum), … nulla opera molitur, Cic. N. D. 1, 19, 51: res dura et regni novitas me talia cogant moliri, Verg. A. 1, 564: validam in vites molire bipennem, to work, i. e. wield, id. G. 4, 331: ancoras, to work, i. e. hoist the anchor, weigh anchor, Liv. 28, 17: agricola incurvo terram molitus aratro, i. e. to work, cultivate, till the ground, Verg. G. 1, 494; Col. 1 praef. 17; 11, 2, 19: erro molirier arva, Lucr. 5, 932: fores, to work, i. e. to force, to break open, Tac. A. 1, 39; 2, 82; Liv. 23, 18, 2; 24, 46, 5: Atharrias ad Philotam missus clausum aditum domus moliebatur, Curt. 6, 8, 20: habenas, to guide, Verg. A. 12, 327: fulmina molitur dextrā, hurls, id. G. 1, 329: ignem, id. A. 10, 131: opera, to begin work, Col. 11, 2, 2: aliquid sub divo moliri potest, id. 1, 8, 9.
      2. 2. To set in motion, bestir, rouse, cause to remove, displace (syn.: deicio, deturbo): montes suā sede, displaces, Liv. 9, 3: corpora ex somno moliebantur, aroused, id. 36, 24, 3: onera objecta, id. 25, 36.
      3. 3. To build, make, erect, construct (syn.: condo, fundo, construo): muros, to build, Verg. A. 3, 132: classem, id. ib. 3, 6: arcem, id. ib. 1, 424: atrium, Hor. C. 3, 1, 46: aedem, Flor. 1, 7: locum, prepares, Verg. A. 7, 158: pocula de inimicorum capitibus hominum, to construct, make, Sol. 15.
    2. B. Trop., to endeavor to do; to undertake, attempt, set about any thing (cf.: aggredior, apparo): nec ea, quae agunt, molientes cum labore operoso, performing, doing, Cic. N. D. 2, 23, 59: viam clipei molita per oras, made its way, Verg. A. 10, 477: inde datum molitur iter, id. ib. 6, 477: jamque alio moliris iter, Stat. S. 5, 2, 61: viam et gressus, Claud. Rapt. Pros. 1, 278; 3, 438: animum, to form or acquire for one’s self, Ov. A. A. 2, 119: laborem, to undertake, Verg. A. 4, 233: struere et moliri aliquid calamitatis alicui, to try to bring upon, Cic. Clu. 64, 178: fortissimis atque optimis civibus periculum moliri, id. Sest. 1, 1: pestem patriae nefarie, id. Cat. 2, 1, 1: perniciem rei publicae, id. ib. 1, 2, 5: insidias avibus, to lay snares, Verg. G. 1, 271: crimina et accusatorem, to bring about, find out, Tac. A. 12, 22: triumphos, Ov. M. 14, 719: fugam, Verg. A. 2, 109: moram, to cause, make, occasion, id. ib. 1, 414: opem extremam alicui, Val. Fl. 6, 431: dolos apertos, to devise, id. 5, 249: bellum in animo, to design, meditate, Vell. 2, 46: Athenienses urbem ex integro condere moliuntur, Just. 2, 15, 1: mundum efficere moliens deus, attempting, Cic. Univ. 4: fallere, Val. Fl. 3, 491: de occupando regno moliens, striving to usurp the government, Cic. Rep. 2, 35, 60: nuptias, to bring about, Tac. A. 12, 3: apud judices oratione molienda sunt amor, odium, etc., are to be excited, called forth, Cic. de Or. 2, 51, 206: tumorem, Col. 6, 17: vorandi facultatem, Cels. 1, 3: fidem moliri coepit, began to meddle with, disturb, Liv. 6, 11, 8.

1. mŏlo, ŭi, ĭtum, 3, v. a. [mola], to grind in a mill.

  1. I. Lit.: molendum usque in pistrino, Ter. Phorm. 2, 1, 19: hordeum in subtilem farinam, to grind into fine flour, Plin. 18, 7, 14, § 73: tolle molam, et mole farinam, Vulg. Isa. 47, 2.
    Absol.: in mola, Vulg. Matt. 24, 41: molentes in unum, at one mill or stone, id. Luc. 17, 35.
  2. II. Transf., in mal. part., Aus. Epigr. 71, 7; cf. Petr. 23.
    Hence, P. a.: mŏlĭ-tus, a, um, ground; as subst.: mŏlĭ-tum, i, n., food made of flour: edo lubentius molitum quam praehibeo a me, Plaut. Men. 5, 6, 13.