An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Molch

by Friedrich Kluge

Molch, masculine, ‘salamander’; the suffix ch first appears in early Modern High German (compare Habicht); from Middle High German mol, neuter, molle, masculine, ‘lizard, salamander,’ Old High German mol, with the variants molm and molt. Dutch mol and Middle English molle signify ‘mole.’ It is not certain whether the word in both senses is originally the same. Old High German mol, ‘lizard,’ has also been connected with the root mat, ‘to grind, pulverise.’