MOAT

moat, fosse

(noun) ditch dug as a fortification and usually filled with water

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

moat (plural moats)

A deep, wide defensive ditch, normally filled with water, surrounding a fortified habitation.

(business, figurative) An aspect of a business which makes it more "defensible" from competitors, either because of the nature of its products, services, franchise or other reason.

A circular lowland between a resurgent dome and the walls of the caldera surrounding it.

(obsolete) A hill or mound.

Synonyms

• fosse

Verb

moat (third-person singular simple present moats, present participle moating, simple past and past participle moated)

(transitive) To surround with a moat.

Anagrams

• Amto, Mato, Mota, TMAO, atmo, atom, mota, toma

Source: Wiktionary

Moat, n. Etym: [OF. mote hill, dike, bank, F. motte clod, turf: cf. Sp. & Pg. mota bank or mound of earth, It. motta clod, LL. mota, motta, a hill on which a fort is built, an eminence, a dike, Prov. G. mott bog earth heaped up; or perh. F. motte, and OF. mote, are from a LL. p.p. of L. movere to move (see Move). The name of moat, properly meaning, bank or mound, was transferred to the ditch adjoining: cf. F. dike and ditch.] (Fort.)

Definition: A deep trench around the rampart of a castle or other fortified place, sometimes filled with water; a ditch.

Moat, v. t.

Definition: To surround with a moat. Dryden.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition