Etymology and origin of the Old English word mot
mot1 meeting
Pronunciation
- /moːt/[1]
Forms
mōt n (strong a-stem)[2]
Etymology
The word for a meeting is inherited from Proto-Germanic *mōtą (“meeting”).[1] Orel, who writes it *mōtan, gives Old Norse mót (“meeting”), Old Saxon mōt and Middle High German muoz (“single combat”), and derives it from *metaną (“to measure”).[3] Köbler sets up *mōtjam beside it and asks whether it belongs to a root Proto-Indo-European *mōd- (“to meet, come”).[2] Kroonen puts the verb mētan (“to meet”) beside the preterite-present mōtan, which he bases on a root *mod- “to approach” known from Armenian.[4] Orel derives the verb from this noun.[3][4][3]
Earliest recorded meaning
The simple noun is rare; the usual form is ġemōt.[5] Liebermann records mot gesece “should attend the court” in Cnut's proclamation of 1020.[6] The bounds of a charter of King Edgar dated 971, which survive only in a copy of the mid-twelfth century, run fram merce mote, from a meeting point on the boundary.[7][8][9]
Semantic evolution
Clark Hall gives the senses “society, assembly, court, council, synod”, an encounter in battle, and the legal phrase “to take counsel”;[5]^(Köbler AE|s.v. mōt (2) Köbler adds “dispute”.[5][2] In charter bounds it names a meeting place, where boundaries meet.[8] Clark Hall links the word with English moot.[5]
Timeline
- 1020 – mot gesece in Cnut's proclamation.[6]
- s. xii med. – fram merce mote in a copy of a charter of 971.[7][9]
Meanings
Noun
- a meeting, assembly, council; a court of law.[5][2][6]
- a hostile encounter.[5][2]
- (charter bounds) a meeting place.[8]
Word family
- ġemōt
- folcmōt
- mōtærn
- mōtġerēfa
- mōthūs
- mōtian
- mōtstōw
- mōtweorþ
- mētan
mot2 toll
- Confidence
- Disputed
- Formation
- Inherited
- First attested
- 950–975 Lindisfarne Gospels gloss
- Inherited from
- Proto-West Germanic *mōtu
- Ultimate origin
- Proto-Germanic *mōtō
Pronunciation
- /moːt/[1]
Forms
mōt f (strong ō-stem; genitive singular mōte, nominative plural mōta)[1]
Etymology
The word for a toll is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *mōtu, from Proto-Germanic *mōtō (“toll, tax”).[1] It matches Gothic 𐌼𐍉𐍄𐌰 (mōta, “toll, customs”) and Old High German mūta, the source of German Maut.[10][11][12] Holthausen relates it to the verb mōtan.[10] Orel follows Meringer in deriving it from a noun “mark”, and records Jellinek's view that the Germanic word comes from Medieval Latin mūta (“toll”) and Much's that the Latin word is Germanic.[3] Köbler takes it as a loan from Latin of the fourth century.[12]
Earliest recorded meaning
The word is recorded in the Lindisfarne gloss (s. x³/⁴), where mot ðæs cyninges renders “nomisma census”, the tribute coin of Matthew 22:19.[11][13][14]
Semantic evolution
It means a toll, tax or tribute;[5]^(Köbler AE|s.v. mōt (1) Clark Hall also cites it from the Lindisfarne gloss of Mark.[5][15]
Timeline
Meanings
Noun
Usage notes
Old English also had a neuter mot “speck, mote”, of unknown origin, the source of English mote.[10][16][5] The spelling mot is also the present tense of mōtan “may, must”.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c d e Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. mōt 2
- ^ a b c d Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 274
- ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 372
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Clark Hall, J. R. (1960), A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 4th ed., with a supplement by H. D. Meritt, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 241
- ^ a b c d Liebermann, F. (1906), Die Gesetze der Angelsachsen, vol. II.1: Wörterbuch, Halle: Niemeyer, p. 149
- ^ a b The Electronic Sawyer: Online Catalogue of Anglo-Saxon Charters, revised ed. by S. E. Kelly and R. Rushforth, King's College London / University of Cambridge, esawyer.lib.cam.ac.uk, p. S 782
- ^ a b c Middendorff, H. (1902), Altenglisches Flurnamenbuch, Halle: Niemeyer, p. 95
- ^ a b Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
- ^ a b c Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 226
- ^ a b c d Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 699
- ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
- ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 291
- ^ Cook, Albert S. (1894), A Glossary of the Old Northumbrian Gospels, Halle: Niemeyer, p. s.v. mot
- ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. mōt 1
- ^ Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. mot
Related etymologies
Cite this entry
“Mot.” Etymologically, 16 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/ang/mot. Accessed 16 Nov. 2026.
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