*SET-U

English word origin

Etymology of moat

From Middle English mote, from Old French mote (“mound, embankment”); compared also to Old French motte (“hillock, lump, clod, turf”), from Medieval Latin mota (“a mound, hill”), of Germanic origin, perhaps via Frankish

1 source sectionExtended source reportWiktionary original ↗
In this entry · 1 source sections

The source etymologies

Wiktionary via Kaikki / Wiktextract

The source reports below are imported and unreviewed by *SET-U. Separate numbered origins and differing source variants are preserved; agreement within this extraction is not independent corroboration.

Unnumbered source etymology

Original entry ↗
noun

A deep, wide defensive ditch, normally filled with water, surrounding a fortified habitation. · A characteristic of a business that enhances its resilience against competitive pressures, arising from the inherent nature of its products, services, brand, or other structural advantages. · A circular lowland between a resurgent dome and the walls of the caldera surrounding it. · A clear ring outside the eyewall of a tropical cyclone.

verb

To surround with a moat.

Selected source glosses provide context, not a complete modern definition inventory

From Middle English mote, from Old French mote (“mound, embankment”); compared also to Old French motte (“hillock, lump, clod, turf”), from Medieval Latin mota (“a mound, hill”), of Germanic origin, perhaps via Frankish *mot, *motta (“mud, peat, bog, turf”), from Proto-Germanic *mutô, *mudraz, *muþraz (“dirt, filth, mud, swamp”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)mut- (“dark, dirty”). Cognate with Alemannic German Mott, Mutte (“peat, turf”), Bavarian Mott (“peat, turf”), dialectal Dutch mot (“dust, fine sand”), Saterland Frisian mut (“grit, litter, humus”), Swedish muta (“to drizzle”), Old English mot (“speck, particle”). More at mote, mud, smut. As term for a business strategy, popularized by American investor Warren Buffett.

Relationships mentioned by the source

These are extracted mentions, not a timeline or a verified sequence of immediate parents.

  • Inherited-form mentionmoteenm
  • Derivation mentionmotefro
  • Cognate mentionmottefro
  • Derivation mention*mutôgem-pro
  • Derivation mention*(s)mut-ine-pro
  • Cognate mentionMottgsw
  • Cognate mentionMottbar
  • Cognate mentionmotnl
  • Cognate mentionmutstq
  • Cognate mentionmutasv
  • Cognate mentionmotang

This page abbreviates 1 auxiliary source items. The etymology narrative is not shortened. Omission counts are available in the audit fields below; consult the original for complete auxiliary material.

Inspect preserved source fields

Raw extraction fields are retained for auditing. Their order does not establish ancestry.

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    {
      "name": "inh",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "enm",
        "3": "mote"
      },
      "expansion": "Middle English mote"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "fro",
        "3": "mote",
        "4": "",
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      },
      "expansion": "Old French mote (“mound, embankment”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
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        "2": "motte",
        "3": "",
        "4": "hillock, lump, clod, turf"
      },
      "expansion": "Old French motte (“hillock, lump, clod, turf”)"
    },
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        "2": "la-med",
        "3": "mota",
        "4": "",
        "5": "a mound, hill"
      },
      "expansion": "Medieval Latin mota (“a mound, hill”)"
    },
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      "args": {
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      },
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      },
      "expansion": "Frankish *mot"
    },
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      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "gem-pro",
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      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Germanic *mutô"
    },
    {
      "name": "der",
      "args": {
        "1": "en",
        "2": "ine-pro",
        "3": "*(s)mut-",
        "4": "",
        "5": "dark, dirty"
      },
      "expansion": "Proto-Indo-European *(s)mut- (“dark, dirty”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "gsw",
        "2": "Mott"
      },
      "expansion": "Alemannic German Mott"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "bar",
        "2": "Mott",
        "3": "",
        "4": "peat, turf"
      },
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    },
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      "name": "cog",
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        "3": "",
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      },
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    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "stq",
        "2": "mut",
        "3": "",
        "4": "grit, litter, humus"
      },
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    },
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      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "sv",
        "2": "muta",
        "3": "",
        "4": "to drizzle"
      },
      "expansion": "Swedish muta (“to drizzle”)"
    },
    {
      "name": "cog",
      "args": {
        "1": "ang",
        "2": "mot",
        "3": "",
        "4": "speck, particle"
      },
      "expansion": "Old English mot (“speck, particle”)"
    }
  ],
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      "mote",
      "mote#Middle_English"
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      "mote#Old_French"
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    [
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      "motte#Old_French"
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    [
      "mota",
      "mota#Latin"
    ],
    [
      "*mot",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/mot"
    ],
    [
      "*motta",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-West Germanic/motta"
    ],
    [
      "*mutô",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/mutô"
    ],
    [
      "*mudraz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/mudraz"
    ],
    [
      "*muþraz",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Germanic/muþraz"
    ],
    [
      "*(s)mut-",
      "Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/(s)mut-"
    ],
    [
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      "Mott#Alemannic_German"
    ],
    [
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      "Mutte#Alemannic_German"
    ],
    [
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      "Mott#Bavarian"
    ],
    [
      "mot",
      "mot#Dutch"
    ],
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      "mut",
      "mut#Saterland_Frisian"
    ],
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      "muta",
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    ],
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      "mot",
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    ],
    [
      "mote",
      "mote#English"
    ],
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      "mud",
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    ],
    [
      "smut",
      "smut#English"
    ]
  ],
  "references": [],
  "descendants": [],
  "lexical": [
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      "pos": "noun",
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        "A deep, wide defensive ditch, normally filled with water, surrounding a fortified habitation.",
        "A characteristic of a business that enhances its resilience against competitive pressures, arising from the inherent nature of its products, services, brand, or other structural advantages.",
        "A circular lowland between a resurgent dome and the walls of the caldera surrounding it.",
        "A clear ring outside the eyewall of a tropical cyclone."
      ],
      "tags": [
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    {
      "pos": "verb",
      "glosses": [
        "To surround with a moat."
      ],
      "tags": [
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  "omittedAuxiliaryFields": {
    "templates": 0,
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    "descendants": 0,
    "lexicalRecords": 0,
    "lexicalSenses": 1,
    "glosses": 0
  }
}

Where this record stops

This page does not supply an independently verified sound-change sequence, first-use manuscript or complete family tree unless a cited analysis explicitly establishes one. Missing detail here is a limit of this record—not a claim that humanity knows nothing more.

An older meaning does not determine what a word must mean today. Follow the sources, preserve disagreements, and keep ancestry separate from interpretation.

Contribute located evidence for moat →

Source and snapshot

Imported from Wiktionary contributors; extracted by Tatu Ylonen / Wiktextract / Kaikki.org. Selected fields are reformatted and grouped; wording, source identity and etymology sections are retained. CC-BY-SA-4.0 applies to the imported source material.

Dump: 2026-10-01 · Extracted: 2026-10-30. These are snapshot dates, not the word’s first attestation or the page’s revision date.

Source entry and bibliography ↗Wiktionary revision history ↗Acquisition and rights ledger
Machine-source provenance
Source SHA-256
5ff2c072f8099f2d2ce484bd6957bf179f046d2ad37bc36555edf8bb84cb5291
Import run
73216b9a9b78ed3830994bf853103716f5a4dc57099e371e9f8fdc468facca26
Permanent entry ID
w-bW9hdA