moten

See also: Moten and möten

Dutch

Pronunciation

  • Audio:(file)

Noun

moten

  1. plural of moot

Middle English

Etymology 1

Inherited from Old English mōtan, from Proto-West Germanic *mōtan, from Proto-Germanic *mōtaną.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmoːtən/

Verb

moten (auxiliary)

  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; see the conjugation table.

Conjugation
Conjugation of moten (preterite-present, defective)
infinitive
present tense past tense
1st-person singular mot, moste moste
2nd-person singular most mostest
3rd-person singular mot, moste moste
subjunctive singular mote, moste
imperative singular
plural1 moten, mote, mosten, moste mosten, moste
imperative plural
participles

1 Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants
  • English: mote; must
  • Scots: mote, mat; most
  • Yola: mosth
References

Etymology 2

From Old English mōtian (to speak, converse, discuss), from Proto-West Germanic *mōtijan (to meet, encounter), from Proto-Germanic *mōtijaną, a denominative of *mōtą (meeting).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmoːtən/

Verb

moten

  1. to speak, talk, say
Conjugation
Conjugation of moten (weak in -ed)
infinitive (to) moten, mote
present tense past tense
1st-person singular mote moted
2nd-person singular motest motedest
3rd-person singular moteth moted
subjunctive singular mote
imperative singular
plural1 moten, mote moteden, motede
imperative plural moteth, mote
participles motynge, motende moted, ymoted

1 Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.

Descendants
References

Etymology 3

Noun

moten

  1. alternative form of motoun

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

moten m

  1. definite singular of mote

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

moten m

  1. definite singular of mote

Old English

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈmoː.ten/

Verb

mōten

  1. plural present subjunctive of mōtan

Swedish

Noun

moten

  1. definite plural of mot