Meaning of Motte | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A raised earth mound, often topped with a wooden or stone structure and surrounded with a ditch.
2. A surname.
3. An argument which is uncontroversial and easy to defend (in the context of a motte and bailey fallacy).

Equivalents

Examples

“The motte was a mound made of earth and surrounded by a ditch.”

“Coordinate term: bailey”

“"Birds are dinosaurs" is the bailey; "birds are more similar to dinosaurs than anything else" is the motte.”

CEFR level