motto

See also: Motto, mottó, and mòtto

English

Wikipedia

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.

Etymology

Italian motto (a word, a saying), Latin muttum (a mutter, a grunt).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmɑ.toʊ/

Noun

motto ‎(plural mottos or mottoes)

1. (heraldry) A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievement.
2. A sentence, phrase, or word, prefixed to an essay, discourse, chapter, canto, or the like, suggestive of its subject matter; a short, suggestive expression of a guiding principle; a maxim.
   • Joseph Addison (1672-1719)

     It was the motto of a bishop eminent for his piety and good works, ... Serve God, and be cheerful.

   • 1922, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest^[1]:

     “[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes like
       Here's rattling good luck and roaring good cheer, / With lashings of food and great hogsheads of beer. […]”

Synonyms

• See also Wikisaurus:saying

Translations

sentence, phrase or word forming part of an heraldic achievement

• Afrikaans: leuse
• Arabic: شعار (ar) m ‎(šiʿār)
• Armenian: նշանաբան (hy) ‎(nšanaban)
• Azeri: şüar (az)
• Basque: goiburu
• Belarusian: дэвіз m ‎(deviz)
• Breton: sturienn m
• Bulgarian: девиз (bg) m ‎(deviz)
• Catalan: divisa f, lema (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 座右銘, 座右铭 (zh) ‎(zuòyòumíng)

• Czech: motto n
• Danish: motto n
• Dutch: motto (nl) n, wapenspreuk (nl) m, (personal) lijfspreuk (nl) m
• Esperanto: moto (eo)
• Estonian: tunnuslause
• Finnish: motto (fi), tunnuslause (fi), vaalilause
• French: devise (fr) f
• Georgian: დევიზი ‎(devizi)
• German: Motto (de) n, Wahlspruch m
• Greek: ρητό (el) n ‎(ritó)
• Hebrew: מוטו m ‎(moto)
• Hindi: ध्येयवाक्य ‎(dhyeyavākya)
• Hungarian: mottó (hu)
• Icelandic: kjörorð (is) n
• Ido: moto (io)
• Indonesian: semboyan (id)
• Irish: mana (ga) m
• Italian: motto (it) m
• Japanese: モットー ‎(mottō)
• Kazakh: ұран ‎(uran)
• Korean: 좌우명 ‎(jwaumyeong)

• Latvian: devīze m
• Lithuanian: devizas m
• Macedonian: мото m ‎(moto), гесло m ‎(geslo)
• Malay: slogan, cogan kata, moto
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: motto (no) n

  Nynorsk: motto n

• Occitan: devisa f
• Persian: شعار (fa) ‎(sho'âr)
• Polish: dewiza (pl) f, motto (pl) m
• Portuguese: lema (pt) m
• Romanian: deviză (ro) f
• Russian: деви́з (ru) m ‎(devíz)
• Scottish Gaelic: facal-suaicheantais m
• Serbo-Croatian:
  • Cyrillic: деви́за f, мото m
  • Roman: deviza (sh) f, moto (sh) m
• Slovak: motto n
• Slovene: moto n
• Spanish: mote (es) m, divisa (es) f (extends to figures), lema (es) m
• Swedish: motto (sv) n, valspråk n
• Tagalog: bansag, lema
• Tamil: குறிக்கோளுரை ‎(kuṟikkōḷurai)
• Thai: คำขวัญ (th) ‎(kham-khwan)
• Turkish: slogan (tr), motto (tr)
• Ukrainian: девіз m ‎(devíz)
• Vietnamese: tiêu ngữ (vi)
• Welsh: arwyddair (cy) m
• West Frisian: biedwurd

suggestive sentence, phrase or word

• Armenian: նշանաբան (hy) ‎(nšanaban), բնաբան (hy) ‎(bnaban)
• Catalan: lema (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 格言 (zh) ‎(géyán), 座右銘, 座右铭 (zh) ‎(zuòyòumíng)

• Czech: motto n
• Danish: motto n
• Dutch: motto (nl) n
• Finnish: motto (fi), tunnuslause (fi)
• French: devise (fr) f
• German: Motto (de) n

• Hungarian: mottó (hu)
• Japanese: モットー ‎(mottō), 標語 (ja) ‎(ひょうご, hyōgo)
• Polish: dewiza (pl) f
• Portuguese: lema (pt) m
• Russian: деви́з (ru) m ‎(devíz)
• Scottish Gaelic: ceann-sgrìobhadh m
• Spanish: lema (es) m
• Swedish: motto (sv) n
• Tagalog: kasabihan
• Turkish: motto (tr)

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Czech

Alternative forms

• moto n (less common)

Noun

motto n

1. motto
2. epigraph

Declension

Declension of motto

	singular	plural
nominative	motto	motta
genitive	motta	mott
dative	mottu	mottům
accusative	motto	motta
vocative	motto	motta
locative	mottu	mottech
instrumental	mottem	motty

See also

• krédo n

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Danish

Noun

motto n (singular definite mottoet, plural indefinite mottoer)

1. motto

References

• “motto” in Den Danske Ordbog

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Dutch

Wikipedia ^nl

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mot‧to

Etymology

From Italian motto ‎(“a word, a saying”).

Noun

motto n ‎(plural motto's, diminutive mottootje n)

1. motto
2. (heraldry) motto

Hyponyms

• leus, leuze
• wapenspreuk

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Finnish

Noun

motto

1. A motto (sentence or a phrase with guiding principle).
2. (heraldry) A motto.

Declension

Inflection of motto (Kotus type 1/valo, tt-t gradation)
nominative		motto	motot
genitive		moton	mottojen
partitive		mottoa	mottoja
illative		mottoon	mottoihin
		singular	plural
nominative		motto	motot
accusative	nom.	motto	motot
	gen.	moton
genitive		moton	mottojen
partitive		mottoa	mottoja
inessive		motossa	motoissa
elative		motosta	motoista
illative		mottoon	mottoihin
adessive		motolla	motoilla
ablative		motolta	motoilta
allative		motolle	motoille
essive		mottona	mottoina
translative		motoksi	motoiksi
instructive		—	motoin
abessive		mototta	motoitta
comitative		—	mottoineen

Synonyms

• tunnuslause
• vaalilause (in heraldry sense)

Anagrams

• motot

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Italian

Etymology

From Latin muttum ‎(“mutter”).

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ɔtto

Noun

motto m ‎(plural motti)

1. Witty remark
2. motto, maxim
3. posy (A motto inscribed inside a ring)

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Japanese

Romanization

motto

1. rōmaji reading of もっと

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Maquiritari

Noun

motto

1. worm

References

• Ed. Key, Mary Ritchie and Comrie, Bernard. The Intercontinental Dictionary Series, Carib (De'kwana).

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Nauruan

Noun

motto

1. motto

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Swedish

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

motto n

1. motto

Declension

Inflection of motto
	Singular		Plural
	Indefinite	Definite	Indefinite	Definite
Nominative	motto	mottot	motton	mottona
Genitive	mottos	mottots	mottons	mottonas

Synonyms

• valspråk