Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary - mold

 I. noun  Etymology: Middle English, from Old English ~e; akin to Old High German molta soil, Latin molere to grind — more at meal  Date: before 12th century  1. crumbling soft friable earth suited to plant growth ; soil; especially soil rich in humus — compare leaf ~  2. dialect British  a. the surface of the earth ; ground  b. the earth of the burying ground  3. archaic earth that is the substance of the human body be merciful great Duke to men of ~ — Shakespeare  II. noun  Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French ~e, alteration of Old French modle, from Latin modulus, diminutive of modus measure — more at mete  Date: 13th century  1. distinctive nature or character ; type  2. the frame on or around which an object is constructed  3.  a. a cavity in which a substance is shaped: as  (1) a matrix for casting metal a bullet ~  (2) a form in which food is given a decorative shape  b. a ~ed object  4. ~ing  5.  a. obsolete an example to be followed  b. prototype  c. a fixed pattern ; design  III. transitive verb  Date: 14th century  1. archaic to knead (dough) into a desired consistency or shape  2. to give shape to the wind ~s the waves  3. to form in a ~ ~ candles  4. to determine or influence the quality or nature of ~ public opinion  5. to fit the contours of fitted skirts that ~ the hips  6. to ornament with ~ing or carving ~ed picture frames  • ~able adjective  • ~er noun  IV. noun  Etymology: Middle English mowlde, perhaps alteration of mowle, from moulen to grow ~y, of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Danish mul ~  Date: 14th century  1. a superficial often woolly growth produced especially on damp or decaying organic matter or on living organisms by a fungus (as of the order Mucorales)  2. a fungus that produces ~  V. intransitive verb  Date: 1530 to become ~y MOLD  geographical name town NE Wales SSW of Liverpool, England