motte
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of motte
An Americanism first recorded in 1830–40; from Mexican Spanish mata; Spanish: “grove, plantation,” perhaps from Late Latin matta mat 1
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In Castle Pulverbatch lie the remains of a motte and bailey castle, believed to be more than 1,000 years old.
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
Could he but reach the motte or clump in safety, he knew that there were straggling trees beyond, and these would secure him in some measure from the lazos of his pursuers.
From The Rifle Rangers by Reid, Mayne
The trompettours blowe a fytte or a motte.
From Schools, School-Books and Schoolmasters by Hazlitt, W. Carew
In a short time they were close in to the motte, yet still no arrow whizzed out.
From The Scalp Hunters by Stewart, F.A.
By ten in the morning the heat drove them to cover for sleep and nooning in the scanty shade of a mesquite motte.
From Copper Streak Trail by Rhodes, Eugene Manlove
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
