Molls

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

  1. Individuals who engage in romantic relationships, often with protectionist tendencies towards their partners
  2. a term for women who are associated with gangsters or criminals, typically in a supportive or affectionate role
  3. a colloquial term used to describe females who show loyalty and affection towards men involved in illicit activities

Etymology: The term "moll" emerged in English during the late 19th century, originally as slang used to describe a woman associated with a male criminal, often a gangster or a thief. Its earliest recorded usage appears in criminal and underworld contexts, where it referred to the female companion, partner, or lover of a "bad man." The word carried a distinctly pejorative tone, implying involvement in or at least proximity to illicit activities. This slang likely evolved from the female given name "Molly," which itself was a common diminutive of "Mary." Names often became generic labels for types of people in vernacular speech, especially within subcultures. "Moll" came to signify not merely a woman named Molly, but a stereotype: a woman who was perceived as tough, unrefined, or morally loose, typically within the milieu of crime and poverty. This shift from personal name to a category label is a pattern seen in other English slang terms as well. The transformation of the word into a broader cultural symbol was cemented by its use in early 20th-century pulp fiction, films, and gangster narratives, where "molls" were portrayed as sidekicks or accomplices to male criminals. This popularization helped fix the term in the English lexicon as a distinctive marker of a certain type of woman connected to the underworld, often with connotations of loyalty and danger. While the word's origin as a personal name is straightforward, its semantic journey reveals how social attitudes and subcultural dynamics can reshape language. The term remains recognizable largely due to its portrayal in media, preserving the image of the "gangster's moll" as a cultural archetype.