1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Mould

MOULD. (1) (O. Eng. molde, from a Teutonic root meaning to grind, reduce to powder, cf. “meal”), loose fine earth, rich in organic matter, on the surface of cultivated ground, especially the made garden soil suitable for the growth of plants. In the sense of a furry growth, consisting of minute fungi found on animal or vegetable substances exposed to damp, the word may be either an extension of “mould,” earth, or an adaptation of an early “moul,” with an additional d due to “mould.” “Moul” is a Scandinavian word, cf. Swed. mögla, to grow musty, and the Eng. colloquial “muggy.” (2) A form or pattern, particularly one by means of which plastic materials may be made into shapes, whence “moulding,” the form which the material so shaped takes. The word comes through the O. Fr. modle, molle, from Lat. modulus, a measure, or standard. The English “model” is another derivative of the same word.