Where does “moat” come from?
Moat comes from Middle English mote, from Old French mote, from Medieval Latin mota, of unknown origin.
moat (English): A deep, wide defensive ditch, normally filled...
Definitions
- A deep, wide defensive ditch, normally filled...
Ancestry of “moat”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Middle English | mote | A natural or man-made mound; hill |
| 2 | Old French | mote | mound, embankment |
| 3 | Medieval Latin | mota | a mound, hill; nominative feminine singular of... |
| 4 | Frankish | *mot | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | *motta | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | mutô | — |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)mut- | dark, dirty |
Words derived from “moat”