Did You Know?
"Moot" derives from "gemōt," an Old English name for a judicial court. Originally, "moot" named either the court itself or an argument that might be debated by one. By the 16th century, the legal role of judicial moots had diminished, and the only remnant of them were "moot courts," academic mock courts in which law students could try hypothetical cases for practice. Back then, "moot" was used as a synonym of "debatable," but because the cases students tried in moot courts were simply academic exercises, the word gained the second sense, "deprived of practical significance." Some commentators still frown on using "moot" to mean "purely academic," but most editors now accept both senses as standard.
*Indicates the sense illustrated in the example sentence.
