Moot
To bring something up for discussion. At one time, moot could also refer to the discussion itself. This usage no longer survives in ordinary English, but it's still used in law school, where a moot court is a simulated court proceeding, part of the training of law students. Originally, a moot question was one that could be debated or was subject to argument. At some point in the 19th century, it came to mean a question that was no longer worth discussing, or one that had no practical application outside the realm of debate. The word traces back to 12th century England, when it referred to a meeting of the freemen of a shire to discuss local issues. In turn, it came from the even older word gemot, which was a meeting of freemen assembled to discuss issues or impose justice.
(Will be published in the December 2009 issue of Denver's Community News.)
I'm collecting all of these at: http://www.dvorkin.com/davidsdefs.html
4 comments:
Which brings us to one of my wife's biggest pet peeves, when people talk about a "mute point" (where they clearly mean a "moot point").
Ha, ha, Tom! I have not heard that particular error before.
Hey, David, I miss your witty blog posts! How about a new one? Or has unemployment, etc. knocked most of the humor out of you for now? My sympathies! But you knew that, of course. - L.
Yeah, the well's kinda empty.
Good reading this ppost
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