In the 18th century, the Swedish government made coffee and its paraphernalia (including cups and dishes) illegal for its supposed ties to rebellious sentiment.
MOTE
atom, molecule, particle, corpuscle, mote, speck
(noun) (nontechnical usage) a tiny piece of anything
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology 1
Noun
mote (plural motes)
A small particle; a speck.
Etymology 2
Verb
mote (third-person singular simple present mote, present participle -, simple past and past participle must)
(archaic) May or might. [from 9th c.]
(obsolete) Must. [9th-17th c.]
(archaic) Forming subjunctive expressions of wish: may. [from 9th c.]
Usage notes
• Generally takes an infinitive without to.
Etymology 3
Noun
mote (plural motes)
(obsolete) A meeting for discussion.
(obsolete) A body of persons who meet for discussion, especially about the management of affairs.
(obsolete) A place of meeting for discussion.
Etymology 4
Noun
mote (plural motes)
A tiny computer for remote sensing; a component element of smartdust.
Anagrams
• -tome, Tome, tome
Proper noun
Mote (plural Motes)
A surname.
Statistics
• According to the 2010 United States Census, Mote is the 7697th most common surname in the United States, belonging to 4313 individuals. Mote is most common among White (88.78%) individuals.
Anagrams
• -tome, Tome, tome
Source: Wiktionary
Mote, v.
Definition: See 1st Mot. [Obs.] Chaucer.
Mote, n. Etym: [See Moot, a meeting.] [Obs., except in a few combinations or phrases.]
1. A meeting of persons for discussion; as, a wardmote in the city of London.
2. A body of persons who meet for discussion, esp. about the management of affairs; as, a folkmote.
3. A place of meeting for discussion. Mote bell, the bell rung to summon to a mote. [Obs.]
Mote, n.
Definition: The flourish sounded on a horn by a huntsman. See Mot, n., 3, and Mort. Chaucer.
Mote, n. Etym: [OE. mot, AS. mot.]
Definition: A small particle, as of floating dust; anything proverbially small; a speck. The little motes in the sun do ever stir, though there be no wind. Bacon. We are motes in the midst of generations. Landor.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
26 January 2025
NEGLECT
(verb) leave undone or leave out; “How could I miss that typo?”; “The workers on the conveyor belt miss one out of ten”
Coffee Trivia
