LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininefirst declension

mola

mola f (genitive molae)
Classical[ˈmɔ.ɫa]Ecclesiastical[ˈmɔː.la]

Meaning

  1. femininemillstone
    inde focum observat pistor dominamque focōrum,Thereupon the baker reverences the hearth and the mistress of the hearth, and the she-donkey that turns the pumice millstones. (See Vestalia.)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 6.317–318
  2. especiallyfemininein pluralmill
  3. feminineground meal
  4. feminine(sacred) flour, coarse-ground meal used in sacrifices
    mola salsa (literally “salted flour”)
    Ipsa molā manibusque piīs altāria iuxtā, [...].And [Dido] herself [stands] near the altars, with the holy meal in her pious hands, ….29 BCE – 19 BCE, Vergilius, Aeneis 4.517

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativemolamolae
genitivemolaemolārum
dativemolaemolīs
accusativemolammolās
ablativemolāmolīs
vocativemolamolae

mŏla, ae, f. cf. μύλη, μύλος, mill, millstone; μύλαι, grinders, molar-teeth; cf. molaris,
I. a millstone; and usu. plur. molae, a mill (driven by slaves, animals, or water): verbera, compedes, molae, Plaut. Men. 5, 6, 9: molarum strepitum audire, Enn. ap. Non. 506, 4 (Com. 7 Vahl. p. 153): molae oleariae duro et aspero lapide, Varr. R. R. 1, 55: trusatiles, Gell. 3, 3, 14: pumiceae, Ov. F. 6, 318: aquariae, water-mills, Pall. 1, 42: digni molam versare Nepotis, Juv. 8, 67: versatiles, Plin. 36, 18, 29, § 135: mola asinaria, i. e. millstone, too heavy for a man to drive, Vulg. Matt. 18, 6; id. Marc. 9, 41: molae olivariae, Paul. Sent. 3, 6, 36.—
II. Transf.
A. Grits or grains of spelt coarsely ground and mixed with salt (hence called mola salsa), which it was customary to strew on the victims at sacrifices: mola etiam vocatur far tostum, et sale sparsum, quod eo molito hostiae aspergantur, Paul. ex Fest. p. 141 Müll.: sparge molam, Verg. E. 8, 82: molam et vinum inspergere, Cic. Div. 2, 16, 37: aut molā salsā aut ture comprecari, Plaut. Am. 2, 2, 109: molā salsā supplicare, Plin. 18, 2, 2, § 7: litare, id. praef. med.: consumpsi salsasque molas et turis acervos, Mart. 7, 5, 4.—
B. A false conception, moon-calf, mole, Plin. 7, 15, 13, § 63; 10, 64, 84, § 184.—
C. A jawbone, or the teeth: molas leonum confringet, Vulg. Psa. 57, 7.

Origins

  1. Proto-Indo-European*melh₂-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*molh₂éh₂
  3. Proto-Italic*molā
  4. Latinmola

Inherited from Proto-Italic *molā, from Proto-Indo-European *molh₂éh₂, from the root *melh₂- (“to grind, crush”). The lack of the development of *mo- > *ma- in open syllables is possibly due to the presence of the word-medial laryngeal. Doublet of mollis (“soft”) and cognate with Ancient Greek μῠ́λη (mŭ́lē, “mill”) and English meal. See also English maelstrom.

Insular Romance
  • Sardinianmoa
  • Sardinianmola
  • Sardinianmora
Gallo-Romance
  • Catalanmola
  • Frenchmeule
  • Occitanmòla
Ibero-Romance
  • Portuguesemó
  • Spanishmuela
  • Asturianmuela
  • Galicianmoa
  • Mirandesemuola
Balkano-Romance
  • Romanianmoară
  • Aromanianmoarã
  • Megleno-Romanianmoară
Italo-Romance
  • Italianmola
  • Neapolitanmola
  • Sicilianmola
  • Venetanmoła
Rhaeto-Romance
  • Friulianmuele
  • Ladinmola

In the Academy Smith's classical dictionaries

AntiquitiesMolaMola (μύλη or μύλος), a mill. Curtius (Gr. Etym. p. 339) remarks that all European languages have the same word for these contrivances--a sufficient p…

Quick answers

What does mola mean in Latin?
mola, a noun, means “millstone; mill; ground meal”.
What is the genitive of mola?
The genitive singular is molae. mola is feminine, first declension.
How do you pronounce mola?
In classical Latin, [ˈmɔ.ɫa]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈmɔː.la].
Where does mola come from?
Proto-Indo-European *melh₂- → Proto-Indo-European *molh₂éh₂ → Proto-Italic *molā → Latin mola.