# mote

> English word · Noun · IPA /moʊt/ · frequency rank #45,526

## Definitions
1. A small particle; a speck.

## Etymology
From Middle English mot, from Old English mot (“grain of sand; mote; atom”), from Proto-West Germanic *mot (“grain of dirt or sand, speck”). Perhaps linked to English mud.
Compare West Frisian mot (“peat dust”), Dutch mot (“dust from turf; sawdust; grit”), Low German mut (“peat dust, grit”), Norwegian mutt (“speck; mote; splinter; chip”), Italian mota (“mud”), Spanish mota (“speck”).

## Easily confused with
- **MT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-mt)
- **MTV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-mtv)
- **mou** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-mou)
- **mow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-mow)
- **MTA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-mta)
- **MST** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-mst)
- **MRT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-mrt)
- **Moz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-moz)
- **move** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-move)
- **myth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-myth)
- **mute** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-mute)
- **muse** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-muse)
- **moth** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-moth)
- **mule** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-mule)
- **moto** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-moto)
- **mott** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-mott)
- **mutt** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-mutt)
- **moya** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-moya)
- **movie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-movie)
- **moved** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/mote-vs-moved)

## Common misspellings (5)
`mmote`, `moet`, `motte`, `mtoe`, `omte`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/mote