LATIN DICTIONARYLexicon Latīnum
noun · femininethird declension

mōlēs

mōlēs f (genitive mōlis)
Classical[ˈmoː.ɫeːs]Ecclesiastical[ˈmɔː.les]

Meaning

  1. multitude, mass (of material)
  2. broadlysize
  3. rock, boulder, cliff, ridge, outcrop, knoll
    est mōlēs nātīva locō rēs nōmina fēcit: appellant Saxum; pars bona montis eā est. huic Remus īnstiterat frūstrā, quō tempore frātrīThere is a ridge, that which gave natural names to the place: they call it the Rock; it forms a good part of the [Aventine] Hill. To this [place] Remus had uselessly embarked, at which time you, birds of the Palatine, gave foremost omens to his brother, [Romulus]. (See Aventine Hill.)8 CE, Ovidius, Fasti 5.149–152
  4. heap, pile
  5. war machine
  6. weight, burden, heaviness
  7. strife, endeavour, effort
    quanta mole gesserat bellawith such efforts he had managed the wars27 BCE – 25 BCE, Titus Livius, Ab urbe condita I.38
  8. difficulty, labor, trouble
  9. fortification, wall, rampart
  10. mass of soldiers, a large army
  11. mole, pier, jetty

Latīnē defined in Latin in our graded readers

ingēns opus, rēs gravis
mass; massive structure
mōlēs -is (f) — in De Bello Gallico II, ch. 11
massa ingēns sine fōrmā
mōlēs -is (f) — in Metamorphoses I, ch. 1, 23
massa ingēns, labor immēnsus
mōlēs -is (f) — in Aeneis, ch. 1

Choosing the right word Döderlein's Latin Synonyms

Moles · Onus · Pondus · Gravitas

Moles and onus denote the heaviness of an object in its disadvantageous sense; moles (from μῶλος or μόχλος) absolutely, as unwieldiness, so far as through its greatness it is inconvenient to move, like ὄγκος; onus, relatively to its pressure, so far as it is irksome to the person carrying it, as a burden, φόρτος; whereas pondus (from pendere) in an advantageous sense, as force and strength, like weight, ἄχθος; lastly, gravitas (from γεραός) unites both senses, and sometimes denotes the irksome heaviness, sometimes the effective weightiness, like βάρος. (iv. 223.)

Declension

declension
formsingularplural
nominativemōlēsmōlēs
genitivemōlismōlium
dativemōlīmōlibus
accusativemōlemmōlēs
mōlīs
ablativemōlemōlibus
vocativemōlēsmōlēs

mōles, is, f. prob. for mog-les; root magh-; cf. magnus; Gr. μόχθος, μογεῖν, μόγις; cf.: μοχλός, molīri, molestus; Germ. Mühe,
I. a shapeless, huge, heavy mass, huge bulk.
I. Lit.
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.—
B. Esp.
1. A mass, pile, a cliff or ridge of rock: in mole sedens, Ov. M. 2, 12; 13, 923.—
2. A mass or pile of waves: venti, tantas audetis tollere moles, Verg. A. 1, 134; 5, 790.—
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. Cic. 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. A huge engine or machine, used at sieges: velut celsam oppugnat qui molibus urbem, Verg. A. 5, 439.—
5. Warlike apparatus, munitions of war: belli, Tac. H. 1, 61: non alias majore mole concursum, with a greater mass, id. A. 2, 46.—
II. Trop.
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.—
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.

Origins

Uncertain. The term is sometimes connected with Proto-Indo-European *meh₃- (“to exert”), though De Vaan reconstructs the Proto-Indo-European root as *melos (“trouble, obstacle”) instead. If the term derives from Proto-Indo-European *meh₃- (“to exert”), then it is cognate with Ancient Greek μῶλος (môlos, “turmoil”) and German mühen (“to labor, toil”). See also Latin mōs.

Borrowings
  • Italianmolofrom Ancient Greek μόλος
  • Englishmolefrom Ancient Greek μόλος
  • Frenchmôlefrom Ancient Greek μόλος
  • GermanMolefrom Ancient Greek μόλος
  • Portuguesemole
  • Spanishmole
  • Danishmolefrom Ancient Greek μόλος
  • Hungarianmólófrom Ancient Greek μόλος
  • Norwegian Nynorskmolofrom Ancient Greek μόλος
  • Polishmolofrom Ancient Greek μόλος
Elsewhere
  • Catalanmola
  • Catalanmoll
  • Italianmole
  • Portuguesemó

In English words that came into English from mōlēs

  • moleculemolecula
  • demolishdēmōlior
  • molemōlēs
  • molestmolestō
  • multuremolitura
  • molimenmolimen
  • moleculamolecula
  • moliminousmōlīmen

Quick answers

What does mōlēs mean in Latin?
mōlēs, a noun, means “multitude, mass (of material); size; rock, boulder, cliff, ridge, outcrop, knoll”.
What is the genitive of mōlēs?
The genitive singular is mōlis. mōlēs is feminine, third declension.
How do you pronounce mōlēs?
In classical Latin, [ˈmoː.ɫeːs]; in ecclesiastical (church) Latin, [ˈmɔː.les].
Which English words come from mōlēs?
English words that go back to Latin mōlēs include mole, molecule, multure, molecula, demolish and molest.