moot
UK: muːt | US: muːt
adj. open to discussion or debate; unresolved
adj. of little practical importance; purely academic
vt. to raise or bring forward (a question or topic) for discussion
n. (historical) a formal assembly or debate, especially in early English law
The word "moot" traces back to Old English mōt, meaning "meeting" or "assembly," derived from Proto-Germanic mōtą (a gathering). In medieval England, a "moot" was a formal judicial or deliberative assembly (e.g., the "Witenagemot," a council of advisors to Anglo-Saxon kings). Over time, the term evolved to describe hypothetical debates in legal training (e.g., "moot courts"), leading to its modern sense of "debatable" or "academic." The verb form emerged from the act of presenting topics for discussion in such assemblies.
The committee considered the issue moot after new evidence emerged.
Whether the policy would work in practice is a moot point.
Scholars often moot theoretical questions in academic journals.
The medieval village held its annual moot to settle disputes.
His argument was dismissed as moot since the deadline had passed.