moulait

Moulait is the imperfect indicative form of the French verb mouler. The primary sense of mouler is to shape or form something by means of a mold, such as casting metal, shaping clay, or forming other materials. In this sense, the form moula it appears in narratives to describe ongoing, past action.

Origin and meaning: Mouler derives from Old French mouler, related to the noun moule (mold). Its etymology traces back to Latin molere (to grind), a semantic path that historically covered both grinding and shaping with a mold. In modern usage, mouler retains the casting and shaping sense, as well as figurative applications involving shaping ideas or objects.

Imperfect conjugation: The imperfect of mouler is formed on the stem moul- with the endings -ais, -ais, -ait, -ions, -iez, -aient. Thus: je moulais, tu moulais, il moulait, nous moulions, vous mouliez, ils moulaient.

Usage and examples: The form is commonly used in narrative to describe ongoing past actions. Examples: Il moulait du métal dans le moule. (He was molding metal in the mold.) Elle moulait de l’argile pour les vases. (She was shaping clay for the vases.)

Notes: Mouler is a regular -er verb, and its related terms include moule (mold), moulage (molding), and mouleur (molder). The form moula- is always tied to the imperfect tense and is not used as a standalone noun.