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moll

Posted: Thu Oct 11, 2012 10:00 pm
by eberntson
moll   

NOUN:
Slang
A woman companion of a gunman or gangster.
A woman prostitute.
ETYMOLOGY:
Probably from the name Moll, nickname for Mary


Actually, checking around it is more likely that the root of the word is Yidish and comes from meaning "thief".

The word in my common experience come in combinations, such as gun moll, and gangster moll.

Re: moll

Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2012 12:56 am
by Philip Hudson
eberntson: Where did you get a Yiddish source for Moll? Etymonline's only etymology is from the female name Molly, which is a variation, perhaps Irish, of the name Mary. It appears pretty straightforward to me. I would be glad to consider a Yiddish source but this is the first I have heard of it. I am very familiar with the word, having read and used it many times.

Re: moll

Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2012 2:22 pm
by Perry Lassiter
The 1913 Webtwer's Unabridged adds another dimension:

Mol"ly, n. A pet or colloquial name for Mary. Molly cottontail. (Zoöl.) See Cottontail. -- Molly Maguire (m&adot;*gw&imac;r"); pl. Molly Maguires (-gw&imac;rz). (a) A member of a secret association formed among the tenantry in Ireland about 1843, principally for the purpose of intimidating law officers and preventing the service of legal writs. Its members disguised themselves in the dress of women. (b) A member of a similar association of Irishmen organized in the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania, about 1854, for the purpose of intimidating employers and officers of the law, and for avenging themselves by murder on persons obnoxious to them. The society was broken up by criminal prosecutions in 1876.

That might be the direct connection to criminal molls. BTW, I did find the dictionaries refer to Molly as short for Mary, but the Molly's I've known have "Molly" on their birth certificates. I believe there must be enough of them now for it to be a stand-alone name.

Re: moll

Posted: Fri Oct 12, 2012 2:50 pm
by eberntson
Thus the title "Moll Flanders" I suppose.

E

Re: moll

Posted: Sat Oct 13, 2012 1:05 am
by Philip Hudson
Was the present definition of moll, available in Defoe's day? If you want balance "Moll Flanders" with a male counterpart, try “Tom Jones" by Fielding.