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intr.v. moiled, moil·ing, moils 1. To work hard; toil: men who moil in mines. 2. To churn about continuously: clouds moiling in the wind. n. 1. Hard work; toil. 2. Confusion; turmoil: "the dogs shooting past her in a moil of fur and flashing feet" (T.C. Boyle). [Middle English mollen, to soften by wetting, from Old French moillier, from Vulgar Latin *molliāre, from Latin mollia (pānis), the soft part (of bread), from neuter pl. of mollis, soft; see mel-1 in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] moiler n. |
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