mot
/məʊ/ noun, proper noun, verb
Forms mots MOTing MOTed
- noun A witty remark; a witticism; a bon mot.
- noun (obsolete) A word or a motto; a device.
- noun (obsolete) A note or brief strain on a bugle.
- noun (UK, Ireland, slang) A woman; a wife.
- noun (UK, Ireland, slang) A prostitute.
- noun (UK, Ireland, slang) A landlady.
- proper noun The ancient Canaanite god of death and the underworld.
- noun (UK, countable, colloquial) An MOT test (an annual test of roadworthiness for most UK motor vehicles over three years old, or four years old in Northern Ireland). “I can’t drive over this week, the car is in for its MOT.”
- noun (UK, countable, by extension) Any regular checkup.
- noun (UK) An aggregate which meets one of the three Ministry of Transport standards for use in road, path and sports court subbase layers. “MOT Type 1 gives the strongest base, MOT Type 3 the best drainage, and MOT Type 2 is intermediate for both”
- verb (UK, colloquial) To subject a motor vehicle to an MOT test.
Synonyms
vehicle inspection bon mot MOT test Ministry of Transportation test
Etymology
From French mot. Doublet of motto.
Probably from Dutch mot (“a sow, a lecherous woman”). See also mort (“woman”) and moth (“girlfriend”).
Learned borrowing from Ugaritic 𐎎𐎚 (mōtu).
(roadworthiness test, aggregate grades): See Proper noun.
Webster’s 1913
- verb May; must; might.
- noun A word; hence, a motto; a device. [Obs.] Bp. Hall.
- noun A pithy or witty saying; a witticism. [A Gallicism]
Etymology [See Must, v.]
Etymology [F. See Motto.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “mot”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details