moll meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

moll

noun

/mɒl/

Etymology From Moll, an archaic nickname for Mary (see also Molly).

A female companion of a gangster or other criminal, especially a former or current prostitute.

The Bat—they called him the Bat.[…]. He[…]played a lone hand,[…]. Most lone wolves had a moll at any rate—women were their ruin—but if the Bat had a moll, not even the grapevine telegraph could locate her.1920, Mary Roberts Rinehart, Avery Hopwood, chapter I, in The Bat: A Novel from the Play (Dell Book; 241), New York, N.Y.: Dell Publishing Company, →OCLC, page 01:
"Makes me feel like a pirate," said Josella as she buckled hers on. "Better, I imagine, to be a pirate than a pirate's moll," I told her.1951, John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, published 1954, page 72:

1 more example

The nostalgic canonization of the Kennedy presidency, the perfect antidote to the Nixon stench, was befouled by the revelation of Jack Kennedy’s mob-moll paramour.2014 July 31, Frank Rich, “A Distant Mirror”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:

A prostitute or woman with loose sexual morals.

Australia, New Zealand, Derogatory, Slang Bitch, slut; an insulting epithet applied to a female.

Australia, New Zealand, Slang A girlfriend of a bikie.

The bikies ‘molls’ included Susan Lloyd as Tart; Victoria Anoux as Flossie; and Rosalind Talamini as Sunshine.1979, Eric Reade, History and Heartburn: The Saga of Australian Film, 1896-1978, page 209:
‘Oh God!’ groans Julie who once was a bikie moll back in the early seventies. ‘Hope it′s no one I know.’ But the Machismos turn out to be based on a New Zealand gang, which assembled in Australia after her time.1995, Debra Adelaide, The Hotel Albatross, page 76:

1 more example

Gilling first appeared as the biker′s moll Vanessa in Stone (1974) and the beautiful, evil cabin attendant in Number 96 (1974).2009, Albert Moran, Errol Vieth, The A to Z of Australian and New Zealand Cinema, page 142:

Australia, New Zealand, Slang A girlfriend of a surfie; blends with pejorative sense.

Slang A female fan of extreme metal, grunge or hardcore punk, especially the girlfriend of a musician of those aforementioned genres.

adj

Etymology From German Moll, from Latin mollis (“soft, tender, elegiac”). Compare molle (“flat (in music)”). Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål moll.

Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music Obsolete minor; in the minor key.