I. noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle French, word, saying, from Latin muttum grunt — more at motto
1. obsolete : motto , device
eye may read the mot afar — Shakespeare
2. ˈmō, pl -ō(z)
[French, from Middle French]
: a pithy or witty saying
the poet … delivers three mots in rapid succession — Peter De Vries
such mots as “Chivalry is the most delicate form of contempt” — New Yorker
II. ˈmät noun
( -s )
Etymology: French motte mound, hillock — more at motte
1. dialect Britain : mark , target ; especially : the mark in a game of quoits
2. : motte I
III. abbreviation
motor; motorized