moola

English

Alternative forms

moolah

Etymology

Unknown. Suggested origins, none of which are accepted by mainstream lexicographers,^[1] include:

from Romani mol (“have value, be worth”)^[2]
from Irish moll óir (“heap of gold”)^[3] However, this is unlikely because of the difference in pronunciation.
from French moulin (“mill”)
from Sanskrit मूल (mūla, “capital, principal”)
coined by Chuck Green, a friend of Damon Runyon^[4]

Pronunciation

(UK) IPA^(key): /ˈmuː.lə/
IPA^(key): /ˈmuːˌlɑː/
Rhymes: -uːlə
Rhymes: -uːlə(r) (in non-rhotic accents)

Noun

moola (uncountable)

(informal) Money, cash.

Translations

informal: money

Chinese:
Mandarin: 金錢 (zh), 金钱 (zh) (jīnqián), 鈔票 (zh), 钞票 (zh) (chāopiào)
Finnish: tuohi (fi), fyrkka (fi), hynä (fi), massi (fi)
French: blé (fr), oseille (fr), pognon (fr), thune (fr)
Georgian: მაყუთი (maq̇uti)

German: Penunze (de) f
Portuguese: please add this translation if you can
Russian: капуста (ru) f (kapusta)
Spanish: lana (es) f, plata (es) f, pasta (es)
Swedish: deg (sv) c, stålar (sv) c pl, kosing (sv) c, para (sv) c, klöver (sv) c

References

↑ Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd Ed.
↑ Henry Hitchings, The Secret Life of Words: How English Became English →ISBN, page 323
↑ Daniel Cassidy, The Secret Language of the Crossroads: How the Irish Invented Slang
↑ Attributed to Mario Pei by William Safire, 6/8/2003 "On Language" column in the New York Times.

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