Emily Dickinson Lexicon

MOLE, n.² [L. moles; Fr. mole; W. moel, a heap, or mwl, a mass; Gr. μωλος.]

1. A mound or massive work formed of large stones laid in the sea by means of coffer dams, extended either in a right line or an arch of a circle before a port, which it serves to defend from the violent impulse of the waves; thus protecting ships in a harbor. The word is sometimes used for the harbor itself. – Encyc.
2. Among the Romans, a kind of mausoleum, built like a round tower on a square base, insulated, encompassed with columns and covered with a dome. – Encyc.