moten

See also: Moten and möten

Dutch

Pronunciation

• Audio:

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Noun

moten

1. (deprecated template usage) Plural form of moot

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Middle English

Etymology 1

From Old English motan, from Proto-Germanic *mōtaną.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmoːtən/

Verb

moten (auxilliary)

1. To have or need to; must.
   • c. 1390, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Knight's Tale”, in Canterbury Tales, lines 875-877, 885:

     And ceꝛtes, if it neꝛe too long to heeꝛe, / I wold have told you fully the manneꝛe / How wonnen was the regne of Femenye / By Theſeus and by his chivalrye, […] / But all that thing I mot as now foꝛbeꝛe.

     And certainly, if it weren't too long to hear / I would have told you the manner / How the realm of Femeny was won / By Theseus and by his chivalry, […] / But I must leave all that alone for now.

2. To feel strongly obliged to; should (really).
3. To be able to; might, can.
4. To be permitted to; may, can.
5. To be about to or going to; will, shall.

Usage notes

As in Modern English, what are historically the past forms of this verb are frequently used with present or even future semantics.

Conjugation

Conjugation of moten (preterite-present)

infinitive	(to) moten
indicative	present	past
1st person singular	mot	moste, muste
2nd person singular	most, must	mostest, mustest
3rd person singular	mot	moste, muste
plural	mote(n)	moste(n), muste(n)
subjunctive	present	past
singular	mote	moste, muste
plural	mote(n)	moste(n), muste(n)
imperative	present
singular	-
plural	-
participle	present	past
	-	-

Descendants

• English: mote; must
• Scots: mote, mat; most

References

• “mọ̄ten, (v.(2)).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-10-24.

Etymology 2

From Old French mouton.

Noun

moten

1. Alternative form of motoun

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Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

moten m

1. definite singular of mote

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

moten m

1. definite singular of mote

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Swedish

Noun

moten

1. (deprecated template usage) definite plural of mot