motte

or mott

[ mot ]

noun

, Chiefly Southwestern U.S.

1. a grove or clump of trees in prairie land or open country.

motte

/ mɒt /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of motte¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of motte¹

C14: see moat

Example Sentences

Jeanne de la Motte, a noblewoman fallen on hard times, pretended to be French Queen and tricked a cardinal into giving her the necklace, without paying.

From BBC

Outfielder Kevin Pillar was suspended for two games without pay by the Toronto Blue Jays for yelling an anti-gay slur at Atlanta Braves pitcher Jason Motte during a game in 2017.

From Los Angeles Times

Pillar felt Motte had quick-pitched him.

From Los Angeles Times

Steven Stamkos, Tyler Motte and Nicholas Paul scored for Tampa Bay, with Paul cutting it to 4-3 with 5:10 left.

From Seattle Times

Stamkos scored 44 seconds into the second before Motte put Tampa Bay up 2-1 just 2:12 later.

From Seattle Times