Etymology From Middle English molde (“mold, cast”), from Old French modle, mole, from Latin modulus, from Latin modus. Doublet of module, modulus, and model.
Crowned with an architrave of antique mould.1711, Alexander Pope, "The Temple of Fame", in The Works of Alexander Pope: New Ed. Including Several Hundred Unpublished Letters, and Other New Materials, Collected in Part by John Wilson Croker. With Introd. and Notes by Whitwell Elwin, Volume 1, J.Murray, p.206
1 more example
This new-comer was a man who in any company would have seemed striking.[…]Indeed, all his features were in large mold, like the man himself, as though he had come from a day when skin garments made the proper garb of men.1910, Emerson Hough, chapter I, in The Purchase Price: Or The Cause of Compromise, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
Etymology From Middle English molde (“mold, cast”), from Old French modle, mole, from Latin modulus, from Latin modus. Doublet of module, modulus, and model.
1
US To shape in or on a mold; to form into a particular shape; to give shape to.
Not only in formal discourse, but in the ordinary walks of life, a well-modulated, expressive voice is a most valuable asset, whether one’s object be to interest, persuade or convince, to give a command or entreat a favor. The moulding of the voice into finished articulate speech is a mechanism in which the entire oral cavity, including palate, teeth, tongue and lips, take an important part. As a result of either structural defect of these organs, or, as is more often the case, as a consequence of their imperfect innervation, various logopathies may occur, which profoundly affect the social status of the unfortunate individual and seriously embarrass his way to a successful career. Lisping, stuttering, stammering, lallation, nunnation and sigmatism, paragammacism and paralambdacism are but few of the locutory evils encountered, much too frequently in adolescents and adults. The fact that they are mostly amenable to treatment and may often be completely corrected, with proper attention and training, is something that needs to be more thoroughly impressed upon our educational bodies and sociologic reformers.1910, Walter A. Wells, “The hygienic, economic and sociologic aspect of the throat”, in The Laryngoscope, volume 20, number 1, →DOI, pages 47–48:
Your hands shaped me and made me … Remember that you molded me like clay.1978, Job 10:8-9, Old Testament, New International Version
2
US To guide or determine the growth or development of; influence
It is you who must mold the minds of your students that they may be wise, farsighted, intelligent, profound in their thinking, devoted to their country and government and fruitful in their work. It is you who must sense as the example.1963. Haile Selassie (translated)
Etymology From Middle English mowlde, noun use and alteration of mowled, past participle of mowlen, moulen (“to grow moldy”), from Old Norse mygla (compare dialectal Danish mugle), from Proto-Germanic *muglōną, diminutive and denominative of *mukiz 'soft substance' (compare Old Norse myki, mykr (“cow dung”)), from Proto-Indo-European *mewk- (“slick, soft”). More at muck and meek.
1
US A natural substance in the form of a furry or woolly growth of tiny fungi that appears when organic material lies for a long time exposed to (usually warm and moist) air.
She took the cheese out of the refrigerator and inspected it for mold.
Etymology From Middle English mowlde, noun use and alteration of mowled, past participle of mowlen, moulen (“to grow moldy”), from Old Norse mygla (compare dialectal Danish mugle), from Proto-Germanic *muglōną, diminutive and denominative of *mukiz 'soft substance' (compare Old Norse myki, mykr (“cow dung”)), from Proto-Indo-European *mewk- (“slick, soft”). More at muck and meek.
1
US To cause to become moldy; to cause mold to grow upon.
2
US To become moldy; to be covered or filled, in whole or in part, with a mold.
mold
noun
Etymology From Middle English molde, from Old English molde, from Proto-Germanic *muldō (“dirt, soil”) (compare Old Frisian molde, Middle Dutch moude, Dutch moude, obsolete German Molte, Norwegian Bokmål mold, and Gothic 𐌼𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰 (mulda)), from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥h₂-téh₂ (compare Ashkun mič, Kamkata-viri muři, mřey, mřëi, Prasuni mire, Waigali muk, all meaning "clay").
1
US Loose friable soil, rich in humus and fit for planting.
Etymology From Middle English molde, from Old English molde, from Proto-Germanic *muldō (“dirt, soil”) (compare Old Frisian molde, Middle Dutch moude, Dutch moude, obsolete German Molte, Norwegian Bokmål mold, and Gothic 𐌼𐌿𐌻𐌳𐌰 (mulda)), from Proto-Indo-European *ml̥h₂-téh₂ (compare Ashkun mič, Kamkata-viri muři, mřey, mřëi, Prasuni mire, Waigali muk, all meaning "clay").
Etymology From Middle English molde (“top of the head”), from Old English molda, molde, from Proto-West Germanic *moldō, from Proto-Germanic *muldô, from a Proto-Indo-European *ml̥Hdʰṓ, parallel to Sanskrit मूर्धन् (mūrdhán).
What a while continueth the mould and crowne of our heads to beate and pant, before our braine is well ſetled[…]1601, C[aius] Plinius Secundus [i.e., Pliny the Elder], “[Book VII.] The Proëme.”, in Philemon Holland, transl., The Historie of the World. Commonly Called, The Naturall Historie of C. Plinius Secundus. […], 1st tome, London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC, page 152:
By reaſon whereof the flaſhing of the Water, and ſharpness of the Air, did ſo pierce the Archbiſhop (being above Threeſcore and thirteen years of Age) that he complained the ſame night of a great cold, which he had then taken in the mould of his Head.1612, Sir George Paule, The life of John Whitgift […] , London: Ri. Chiswell, published 1699, page 118:
1 more example
[…]its eyes as large as a mans; and betwixt the two eyes, it hath a hole like the mould in the head of a man, by which it ſucks in and ſpouts out the Water[…]1687, Jean de Thévenot, “Book I, Chapter II”, in Archibald Lovell, transl., Travels into the Levant, volume Part II, London, page 6: