MOOT

[Dr. Goodword]

• moot •

Pronunciation: mut • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun & Adjective

Meaning: 1. [Noun] A public meeting, especially one convened for judicial or legislative purposes. 2. [Adjective] Arguable, debatable, open to debate, not settled, as a moot question. 3. [Adjective, Law] Undebatable, of no significance because irrelevant or already decided.

Notes: Today's word is what some have called an 'contronym', a word with two meanings that contradict each other. Outside North America, the adjective means "arguable, open to debate" while in North America it means "not debatable". The noun is seldom used in North America but is still alive in other dialects of English: "Town officials were called together in a moot to discuss enforcement of the new statute." The comparative of this word is mooter while the superlative is mootest.

In Play: We are primarily interested in the adjectival meaning of today's word. In Britain you might say, "Whether Franklin could carry the can of paint to the roof on his head without spilling any was a moot question that Franklin did not want to settle that particular day." Here the question is open, unsettled. In the US, however, someone is more likely to say, after the accident, "Whether Franklin could have made it to the roof without spilling any paint had Rory not shaken the ladder is a moot point." Here the point is no longer relevant since Franklin is currently sitting on the ground covered with paint.
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Word History: Today's Good Word meant simply "meeting" in Middle English, when it was spelled simply mot. The adjective moot is a 16th-century legal term that derives from the noun in its sense of a hypothetical case argued as an exercise by a meeting of law students. Originally, a moot question was one that is arguable or open to debate. But in the mid-19th century people also began to look at the hypothetical side of moot as its essential meaning, and they started to use the word to mean “of no significance or relevance.” Thus, a moot point, however debatable, became one that has no practical value.

[Slava]

The comparative of this word is mooter while the superlative is mootest.

I've never thought of this word as having a comparative and superlative, it's always been just "a moot point" to me. Or, in Tolkien, an Ent moot.

Now I must try to think of ways to use it further. "Well, Bob's point was rather moot, but I do believe yours is mooter." "Gee, that's the mootest point I've ever heard."

PS: my spell check in Firefox doesn't like mootest. I had to add it to the dictionary. It does suggest "moo test," though. Good for the cows?

[saparris]

We should make an effort to introduce a verb form (to mooter) into the language. It would mean "making useless or insignificant points."

"Pardon me, Bertie, but you're mootering again."

[Slava]

We should make an effort to introduce a verb form (to mooter) into the language. It would mean "making useless or insignificant points."

"Pardon me, Bertie, but you're mootering again."

This sounds almost obscene somehow. And the infinitive, with the "to," comes across as a way to pronounce tomato.

"Ken Ah get some tomooters on that thar burger?"

I don't think it'll catch on. Though it's fun to think about, I'll stick with the adjective.

[saparris]

OK. If you don't like mooter as a verb, then what about a subdivision called Moote Pointe?

[Perry]

No doubt you get there via Ent Moot Highway.

[saparris]

No doubt you get there via Ent Moot Highway.

It's just a few miles down the Ent Moot Hiighway by mootercar. Access to the subdivision is along a lovely tree-lined entrance. But be careful: the trees have a hobbit of moving about.

[Slava]

No doubt you get there via Ent Moot Highway.

It's just a few miles down the Ent Moot Hiighway by mootercar. Access to the subdivision is along a lovely tree-lined entrance. But be careful: the trees have a hobbit of moving about.

And make sure you aren't wearing any Axe, real or spray, when you pass the trees.

[LukeJavan8]

No doubt you get there via Ent Moot Highway.

It's just a few miles down the Ent Moot Hiighway by mootercar. Access to the subdivision is along a lovely tree-lined entrance. But be careful: the trees have a hobbit of moving about.

It is so good to see you speaking in Elvish and some of
its dialects. Take the Moot Highway to Bag End.

[Perry]

"I don't know half of you well enough. And I like some of you only half as much as you deserve."

[saparris]

"I don't know half of you well enough. And I like some of you only half as much as you deserve."

Some of us don't even know ourselves half as much as we should.

[LukeJavan8]

And others hide in anonymity for security.

[misterdoe]

OK. If you don't like mooter as a verb, then what about a subdivision called Moote Pointe?

I seem to remember seeing moot (actually "mooted") used as a verb, meaning "made unnecessary, redundant" somewhere online. It may have been a humor column, though, which of course doesn't count... or should I say it moots this post.

[saparris]

I seem to remember seeing moot (actually "mooted") used as a verb, meaning "made unnecessary, redundant" somewhere online.

No mooting required:

moot–verb (used with object)
5.
to reduce or remove the practical significance of; make purely theoretical or academic.

from dictionary.com

[LukeJavan8]

As in:
This discussion has become moot.