mottenbal

Dutch

Etymology

Compound of mot (“moth”) +‎ -en- +‎ bal (“ball”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɔ.tə(n)ˌbɑl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mot‧ten‧bal

Noun

mottenbal m (plural mottenballen, diminutive mottenballetje n)

1. a mothball, bug-repelling ball
2. (figuratively, in the plural) long-term storage; unsavory state (of conservation)

Further reading

• mottenbal on the Dutch Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^nl