Where does “motet” come from?
Motet comes from French motet, formed with the French diminutive suffix -et from Middle French -et, ultimately derived from Latin muttire meaning "to mutter" with the Latin suffix -atus, continuing Proto-Italic -ātos and Proto-Indo-European -eh₂tos and -tós.
motet (English): A composition adapted to sacred words in the...
Definitions
- A composition adapted to sacred words in the...
Ancestry of “motet”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | French | motet | motet |
| 2 | French | mot | word; note, message |
| 3 | Middle French | mot | word |
| 4 | Old French | mot | word; Alternative form of molt |
| 5 | Medieval Latin | mota | a mound, hill; nominative feminine singular of... |
| 6 | Frankish | *mot | — |
| 7 | Proto-Germanic | *motta | — |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | mutô | — |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)mut- | dark, dirty |
Words derived from “motet”