Moola

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈmuːˌlɑː/

Definitions

1. A slang term used to refer to money, particularly cash held or spent
2. An informal expression denoting currency or financial resources in general
3. A colloquial word describing funds, often used when talking about income or spending

Etymology: Slang for money, "moola" is first attested in the 1920s, but nobody has pinned down where it came from. Lexicographers have a shelf of candidate origins, and most of them fail on the evidence. Several proposals look plausible at first glance. One links it to the Romani "mol," meaning "have value" or "be worth." Another points to the Irish "moll óir," a "heap of gold," but the pronunciation does not match well. A French source, "moulin" (mill), suggests a metaphor of money as something ground out, and a Chinook Jargon word with the same sense of "mill" offers another route, though that is a weak fit too. A Sanskrit word, "mūlya," meaning "capital" or "principal," has a fine meaning but no clear path into American slang. The most specific claim is that the word was coined by Chuck Green, a friend of the American writer Damon Runyon, whose colourful Broadway stories of the period were full of such slang. That story is attractive, yet it remains unconfirmed, so the word's true origin is still open.

Synonyms: money, cash, dough

Antonyms: debt, poverty