Refine this word faster
Mote
Definitions
- 1 A surname.
- 1 A small particle; a speck.
"Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye."
- 2 A meeting for discussion. obsolete
"a wardmote in the city of London"
- 3 A tiny computer for remote sensing; a component element of smartdust.
- 4 (nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything wordnet
- 5 A body of persons who meet for discussion, especially about the management of affairs. obsolete
"a folk mote"
Show 1 more definition
- 6 A place of meeting for discussion. obsolete
- 1 May or might. archaic, no-present-participle
"he […] kept aloofe for dread to be descryde, / Untill fit time and place he mote espy, / Where he mote worke him scath and villeny."
- 2 Must. no-present-participle, obsolete
- 3 Forming subjunctive expressions of wish: may. archaic, no-present-participle
"‘I shall not take Vengeance into my own Hands. The Goddess will do what She will.’ ‘So mote it be,’ said the Grandmaster."
Etymology
From Middle English mot, from Old English mot (“grain of sand; mote; atom”), from Proto-West Germanic *mot (“grain of dirt or sand, speck”). Perhaps linked to English mud. Compare West Frisian mot (“peat dust”), Dutch mot (“dust from turf; sawdust; grit”), Low German mut (“peat dust, grit”), Norwegian mutt (“speck; mote; splinter; chip”), Italian mota (“mud”), Spanish mota (“speck”).
From Middle English moten, from Old English mōtan (“to be allowed, be able to, have the opportunity to, be compelled to, may, must”), from Proto-Germanic *mōtaną (“to be able to, have to, be delegated”), from Proto-Indo-European *med- (“to acquire, possess, be in charge of”). Cognate with Dutch moeten (“to have to, must”), German müssen (“to have to, must”), Ancient Greek μέδω (médō, “to prevail, dominate, rule over”). Related to empty.
See moot (“a meeting”).
Clipping of remote, with allusion to the other sense of mote (“a speck of dust”).
From the French and English surname, spelling variant of Motte, from the noun motte (“stronghold”); also a variant of Mott.
See also for "mote"
Next best steps
Mini challenge
Unscramble this word: mote