Word of the Day

: August 6, 2021

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

We thought of containers for anyone who wanted to bring home cookies, but it's a moot point now since they have all been eaten.

"As Austin voters address the city's controversial homeless camping policies, a parallel debate is playing out at the Texas Legislature that could render the outcome largely moot." — Ryan Autullo, The Austin (Texas) American-Statesman, 26 Apr. 2021

Did You Know?

Moot derives from gemōt, an Old English name for a judicial court. Originally, moot referred to 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 additional 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.