Where does “mote” come from?
mote (Middle English) comes from Old French mote, from Medieval Latin mota, from Frankish *mot, from Proto-Germanic *motta, from Proto-Germanic mutô, from Proto-Indo-European (s)mut- — dark, dirty.
Ancestry of “mote”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Old French | mote | mound, embankment |
| 2 | Medieval Latin | mota | a mound, hill; nominative feminine singular of... |
| 3 | Frankish | *mot | — |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | *motta | — |
| 5 | Proto-Germanic | mutô | — |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)mut- | dark, dirty |
Words derived from “mote”