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moat

 - 3 dictionary results

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.
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Origin:
1325–75; ME mote < OF: clod, mound, of obscure orig.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2010.
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moat   (mōt)   
n.  

  1. A deep wide ditch, usually filled with water, typically surrounding a fortified medieval town, fortress, or castle as a protection against assault.

  2. A ditch similar to one surrounding a fortification: A moat separates the animals in the zoo from the spectators.

tr.v.   moat·ed, moat·ing, moats
To surround with or as if with a moat.

[Middle English mote, mound, moat, from Old French, mound, or Medieval Latin mota.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

moat 
1362, from O.Fr. mote, from M.L. mota "mound, fortified height," probably from Gaul. mutt, mutta. Sense shifted in Norman Fr. from the castle mound to the ditch dug around it.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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