From Middle English mōt, ȝemōt, from Old English *mōt, ġemōt (“meeting”), from Proto-Germanic *mōtą, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d- (“to encounter, come”). Cognate with Scots mut, mote (“meeting, assembly”), Low German Mööt (“meeting”), Moot (“meeting”), archaic Dutch (ge)moet (“meeting”), Danish møde (“meeting”), Swedish möte (“meeting”), Norwegian møte (“meeting”), Icelandic mót (“meeting, tournament, meet”). Related to meet. The adjective derives from the noun.
Meanings
(in the US, qualifier:current in UK, rare) Subject to discussion (originally at a moot); arguable, debatable, unsolved or impossible to solve.
[T]he uncertain, unsettled condition of this science of Cetology is in the very vestibule attested by the fact, that in some quarters it still remains a moot point whether a whale be a fish. 1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “Chapter 32”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC:
[…] :indeed we were obligd to hawl off rather in a hurry for the wind freshning a little we found ourselves in a bay which it was a moot point whether or not we could get out of: […] 1770, Joseph Banks, The Endeavour Journal of Sir Joseph Banks, January 4, 1770 (published 1962)
The extent to which these Parisian radicals ‘represented’ the French people as a whole was very moot. 2002, Colin Jones, The Great Nation, Penguin, published 2003, page 477:
(Canada, US) Being an exercise of thought; academic.
(Canada, US, in the UK, uncommon) Having no practical consequence or relevance.
That point may make for a good discussion, but it is moot.
The question [whether certain poetry was present in the original Hebrew Psalms] in our own time is moot, since various considerations have made it certain that, of all the hazards presented by biblical translation, a dangerous excess of beauty is not one of them. 2007, Paul Mankowski, “The Languages of Biblical Translation”, in Adoremus Bulletin, volume 13, number 4:
es por gusto (having no practical importance) · nl hypothetisch (having no practical importance) · fi kiistanalainen (subject to discussion) · ru гипотети́ческий (having no practical importance) · es por las puras (having no practical importance) · fi kiistakysymys (subject to discussion) · sv irrelevant (having no practical importance) · ru теорети́ческий (having no practical importance) · es por las puras huevas (having no practical importance) · es baldío (having no practical importance) · pl sporny (subject to discussion) · hu öncélú (having no practical importance) · fi ratkaisematon (subject to discussion) · ca irrellevant (having no practical importance) · es nimio (having no practical importance) · hu vitatott (subject to discussion) · hu vitás (subject to discussion) · hu okafogyott (having no practical importance) · hu függőben lévő (subject to discussion) · de umstritten (subject to discussion) · es por las puras brevas (having no practical importance) · hu irreleváns (having no practical importance) · hu pusztán elméleti (having no practical importance) · de fraglich (subject to discussion) · nl irrelevant (having no practical importance) · fr vain (having no practical importance) · hu érdektelen (having no practical importance) · it discusso (subject to discussion) · es por las huevas (having no practical importance) · fi asian vierestä (having no practical importance) · hu tárgytalan (having no practical importance) · nl hypothetisch (subject to discussion) · de irrelevant (having no practical importance) · mi hape (having no practical importance) · pt irrelevante (having no practical importance) · de rein akademisch (having no practical importance) · hu jelentéktelen (having no practical importance) · es ínfimo (having no practical importance) · uk спі́рний (subject to discussion) · sv ovidkommande (having no practical importance) · pt discutível (subject to discussion) · fr discutable (subject to discussion) · hu vitatható (subject to discussion) · es menudo (having no practical importance) · it dibattuto (subject to discussion) · fr stérile (having no practical importance) · hu függő (subject to discussion) · fr non pertinent (having no practical importance) · cs diskutabilní (subject to discussion) · hu eldöntetlen (subject to discussion) · hu vita tárgyává tehető (subject to discussion) · fi epärelevantti (having no practical importance) · fi kiistelty (subject to discussion) · ru спо́рный (subject to discussion) · de strittig (subject to discussion) · it controverso (subject to discussion) · bg спорен (subject to discussion) · ru дискуссио́нный (subject to discussion) · hu hipotetikus (having no practical importance) · ca discutible (subject to discussion) · pl bezprzedmiotowy (having no practical importance) · cs sporný (subject to discussion) · sv oviktig (having no practical importance) · de müßig (having no practical importance)
From Middle English mōt, ȝemōt, from Old English *mōt, ġemōt (“meeting”), from Proto-Germanic *mōtą, from Proto-Indo-European *meh₂d- (“to encounter, come”). Cognate with Scots mut, mote (“meeting, assembly”), Low German Mööt (“meeting”), Moot (“meeting”), archaic Dutch (ge)moet (“meeting”), Danish møde (“meeting”), Swedish möte (“meeting”), Norwegian møte (“meeting”), Icelandic mót (“meeting, tournament, meet”). Related to meet. The adjective derives from the noun.
Meanings
A moot court.
The pleading used in courts and chancery called moots. 1531, Thomas Elyot, The Boke Named the Governour […], London: […] Tho[mas] Bertheleti, →OCLC:
A system of arbitration in many areas of Africa in which the primary goal is to settle a dispute and reintegrate adversaries into society rather than assess penalties.
(qualifier:scouting) A gathering of Rovers, usually in the form of a camp lasting two weeks.
A social gathering of pagans, normally held in a public house.
(historical) An assembly (usually for decision-making in a locality).
From Middle English moten (“to speak, talk, converse, discuss”), from Old English mōtian (“to speak, converse, discuss”), from Proto-Germanic *mōtijaną (“to meet, encounter”), a suffixed derivative of *mōtą (“meeting”). Related to etymology 1. See also mutter (which is a frequentative of moot).
Meanings
(Northern-England, Scotland, countable, uncountable) A whisper, or an insinuation, also gossip or rumors.
From Middle English moten (“to speak, talk, converse, discuss”), from Old English mōtian (“to speak, converse, discuss”), from Proto-Germanic *mōtijaną (“to meet, encounter”), a suffixed derivative of *mōtą (“meeting”). Related to etymology 1. See also mutter (which is a frequentative of moot).
Meanings
To bring up as a subject for debate.
A number of other mergers of U.S. railroads are mooted, but the I.C.C. [Interstate Commerce Commission] has made it clear that its assent to the N.& W.-Virginian proposal, which was unopposed by competitors or stockholders, should not be taken as an indication that others will swiftly pass its scrutiny. 1960 January, “Talking of Trains: N.& W.-Virginian merger”, in Trains Illustrated, page 9:
The general idea was first mooted a couple of years ago by Philip Hammond, then Britain’s chancellor of the exchequer, as a means of encouraging the EU to strike a friendly Brexit deal with the UK. 2019 December 17, Howard Davies, “Will the UK really turn into 'Singapore-on-Thames' after Brexit?”, in The Guardian, →ISSN:
To discuss or debate.
a problem which hardly has been mentioned, far less mooted, in this country a. 1857, William Hamilton, edited by H[enry] L[ongueville] Mansel and John Veitch, Lectures on Metaphysics and Logic […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1859–1860, →OCLC:
First a case is appointed to be mooted by certain young men, containing some doubtful controversy. 1531, Thomas Elyot, The Boke Named the Governour […], London: […] Tho[mas] Bertheleti, →OCLC:
An elevated cycleway connecting Los Angeles and Pasadena was mooted as early as 1896 … 2015 March 4, Peter Shadbolt, “Amazing Cycle Super Highways”, in CNN, retrieved 11 Mar 2015:
(US) To make or declare irrelevant.
To argue or plead in a supposed case.
There is a difference between mooting and pleading; between fencing and fighting. 1641, Ben Jonson, Timber:
(obsolete, regional) To talk or speak.
In that mater now I will mute no moir. 1535, William Stewart, The Buik of the Croniclis of Scotland:
(Northern-England, Scotland) To say, utter, also insinuate.
de zur Debatte stellen (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · de in Frage stellen (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · es sugerir (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · nl ter sprake brengen (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · ru ста́вить вопро́с на обсужде́ние (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · pt propor (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · fi ehdottaa (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · bg повдигам въпрос (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · fi esittää (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · pt tencionar (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · cs předložit (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · es proponer (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · nl ter tafel brengen (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · ca plantejar (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · pt pleitear (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · nl ter discussie stellen (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · uk підніма́ти пита́ння (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · de infrage stellen (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · fi tuoda keskusteluun (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · de zur Diskussion stellen (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · es plantear (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose) · cs navrhnout (k diskusi) (to bring up as a subject for debate, to propose)
moot en · NOUN · etymology 3
Pronunciation
/ˈmʊt/
Etymology
Unknown.
Meanings
(Australia) The vagina.
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moots
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moot en · NOUN · etymology 4
Etymology
From Dutch moot (“piece”).
Meanings
(West-Country) The stump of a tree; the roots and bottom end of a felled tree.
'Ithin the woodlands, flow'ry gleäded, / By the woak tree's mossy moot 1903, William Barnes, “My Orcha'd in Linden Lea”, in Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect:
(West-Country) To turn up soil or dig up roots, especially an animal with a snout.
"Zarch tha whole worl', vrom Guenever / To Squier Mules' ta Muddever, / Moot iv'ry brack about un. 1867, William Frederick Rock, Jim and Nell, page 24:
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mooting
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moots
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mooted
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mooted
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moot en · NOUN · etymology 5
Etymology
Clipping of mutual with humorously altered pronunciation.
Meanings
(Internet, endearing, plural-normally) A mutual follower on a social media platform.
I just simply post them in my main Twitter account, then hoping that my moots will like and retweet them. 2021, @DIORJAEYUN, "NCity Small Business", EnVi, Winter 2021, page 222
RT: hi..jst joined #edtwt! let’s be moots and rt each other 2022, anonymous, quoted in Fayika Farhat Nova et al., "Cultivating the Community: Inferring Influence Within Eating Disorder Networks on Twitter", Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, January 2022 (article link)
Eid Mubarak to all my muslim moots out there 2020, @healer_katara, "Café au Twitter", ZaofuToday, Issue 1, page 10