motte

or mott

[ mot ]

nounChiefly Southwestern U.S.
  1. a grove or clump of trees in prairie land or open country.

Origin of motte

1
An Americanism first recorded in 1830–40; from Mexican Spanish mata; Spanish: “grove, plantation,” perhaps from Late Latin matta mat1

Words Nearby motte

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use motte in a sentence

  • He therefore asked Mrs. motte, owner of the place, whether she would allow him to set fire to it, to force the British out.

    The Story of the Thirteen Colonies | H. A. (Hlne Adeline) Guerber
  • The Count de la motte next proceeded to London and there sold several hundreds of diamonds.

  • In possession of four hundred thousand dollars worth of diamonds, Madame de la motte's next difficulty was to sell them.

  • He was a very useful friend to Madame de la motte until at last he turned king's evidence and explained the whole fraud.

  • Even Gougeon seemed to be waked up, and fixed his greedy black eyes on motte.

    The False Chevalier | William Douw Lighthall

British Dictionary definitions for motte

motte

/ (mɒt) /


noun
  1. history a natural or man-made mound on which a castle was erected

Origin of motte

1
C14: see moat

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012