释义 |
moat I. \ˈmōt, usu -ōd.+V\ noun (-s) Etymology: Middle English mot, mote, probably from Middle French motte hill, bank, mound, from Old French mote 1. : a deep and wide trench around the rampart of a castle or other fortified place that is usually filled with water — see castle illustration 2. a. : an artificial channel resembling a moat (as for confinement of animals in a zoo or for landscaping) b. : a natural feature resembling a moat (as at the margin of a receding glacier, around the inner cone of a volcano, or on the sea floor at the base of a seamount or beside a coral reef) [moat 1] II. transitive verb (-ed/-ing/-s) Etymology: Middle English moten, from mote, n. : to surround with or as if with a moat |