Word of the Day

: July 21, 2007

moot

adjective MOOT

What It Means

1 a : open to question : debatable

b : subjected to discussion : disputed

2 : deprived of practical significance : made abstract or purely academic

moot in Context

Since the team would have lost anyway, it's a moot point whether the umpire's call was right or not.

Did You Know?

"Moot" derives from "gemōt," an Old English name for a judicial court. Originally, "moot" named either the court itself or an argument that might be debated by one. By the 16th century, the legal role of judicial moots had diminished, and the only remnant of them were "moot courts," academic mock courts in which law students could try hypothetical cases for practice. Back then, "moot" was used as a synonym of "debatable," but because the cases students tried in moot courts were simply academic exercises, the word gained the second sense, "deprived of practical significance." Some commentators still frown on using "moot" to mean "purely academic," but most editors now accept both senses as standard.

*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.