moat

[moht]
noun
1.
a deep, wide trench, usually filled with water, surrounding the rampart of a fortified place, as a town or a castle.
2.
any similar trench, as one used for confining animals in a zoo.

Origin:
1325–75; Middle English mote < Old French: clod, mound, of obscure origin

moat, mote.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To Moat
Collins
World English Dictionary
moat (məʊt) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n
1.  a wide water-filled ditch surrounding a fortified place, such as a castle
 
vb
2.  (tr) to surround with or as if with a moat: a moated grange
 
[C14: from Old French motte mound]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
00:10
Moat is always a great word to know.
So is ninnyhammer. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a fool or simpleton; ninny.
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

moat
mid-14c., from O.Fr. mote, from M.L. mota "mound, fortified height," probably from Gaulish mutt, mutta. Sense shifted in Norman French from the castle mound to the ditch dug around it.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Time was when a moat and a drawbridge were the preferred home security devices.
They sit in a moat of vibrant dill-accented red-pepper mousse.
The showroom, open to the public, is literally built over a moat.
The administration building was surrounded by a moat.
Related Words
Synonyms
Synonym Game
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT