moten
Middle English
Etymology 1
Inherited from Old English mōtan, from Proto-West Germanic *mōtan, from Proto-Germanic *mōtaną.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈmoːtən/
Verb
moten (auxiliary)
- To have or need to; must.
- c. 1390, Geoffrey Chaucer, “The Knight's Tale”, in Canterbury Tales, lines 875-877, 885:
- And ceꝛtes, if it neꝛe too long to heeꝛe, / I wold have told you fully the manneꝛe / How wonnen was the regne of Femenye / By Theſeus and by his chivalrye, […] / But all that thing I mot as now foꝛbeꝛe.
- And certainly, if it weren't too long to hear / I would have told you the manner / How the realm of Femeny was won / By Theseus and by his chivalry, […] / But I must leave all that alone for now.
-
- To feel strongly obliged to; should (really).
- To be able to; might, can.
- To be permitted to; may, can.
- To be about to or going to; will, shall.
Usage notes
As in Modern English, what are historically the past forms of this verb are frequently used with present or even future semantics; see the conjugation table.
Conjugation
Conjugation of moten (preterite-present, defective)
| infinitive | — | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| present tense | past tense | ||
| 1st-person singular | mot, moste | moste | |
| 2nd-person singular | most, mostest | mostest | |
| 3rd-person singular | mot, moste | moste | |
| subjunctive singular | mote, moste | ||
| imperative singular | — | — | |
| plural1 | moten, mote, mosten, moste | mosten, moste | |
| imperative plural | — | — | |
| participles | — | — | |
1Sometimes used as a formal 2nd-person singular.
References
- “mọ̄ten, (v.(2)).”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 2019-10-24.
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