Wiktionary

motto

See also: Motto, mottó, and mòtto

English edit

 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia
 
Motto of Alabama

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Italian motto (“a word, a saying”), from Latin muttum (“a mutter, a grunt”), late 16th c.. Doublet of mot.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

motto (plural mottos or mottoes)

  1. (heraldry) A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievement.
  2. A sentence, phrase, or word, prefixed to an essay, discourse, chapter, canto, or the like, suggestive of its subject matter; a short, suggestive expression of a guiding principle; a maxim.
    • 1715 June 5 (Gregorian calendar), Joseph Addison, “The Free-holder: No. 45. Wednesday, May 25. [1715.]”, in The Works of the Right Honourable Joseph Addison, Esq; […], volume IV, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], published 1721, →OCLC:
      It was the motto of a bishop eminent for his piety and good works, ... Serve God, and be cheerful.
    • 1921, Ben Travers, chapter 1, in A Cuckoo in the Nest, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, Page & Company, published 1925, →OCLC:
      “ […] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes like
        Here's rattling good luck and roaring good cheer, / With lashings of food and great hogsheads of beer. […] ”
  3. (obsolete) A paper packet containing a sweetmeat, cracker, etc., together with a scrap of paper bearing a motto.

Synonyms edit

Translations edit

Verb edit

motto (third-person singular simple present mottos, present participle mottoing, simple past and past participle mottoed)

  1. (intransitive) To compose mottos.
    • 2003, Nineteenth Century Prose, volume 30, page 304:
      The singularity of his epigraphic strategy notwithstanding, Emerson does not draw attention to his own mottoing. One exchange suggests that his practice was a convention imposed from without.

Further reading edit

Czech edit

Alternative forms edit

  • moto n (less common)

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

motto n

  1. motto
  2. epigraph

Declension edit

Declension of motto (hard neuter)
singular plural
nominative motto motta
genitive motta mott
dative mottu mottům
accusative motto motta
vocative motto motta
locative mottu mottech
instrumental mottem motty

See also edit

Further reading edit

  • motto in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
  • motto in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Danish edit

Noun edit

motto n (singular definite mottoet, plural indefinite mottoer)

  1. motto

References edit

Dutch edit

 
Dutch Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nl

Etymology edit

From Italian motto (“a word, a saying”).

Pronunciation edit

  • Audio(file)
  • Hyphenation: mot‧to

Noun edit

motto n (plural motto's, diminutive mottootje n)

  1. motto
  2. (heraldry) motto

Hyponyms edit

Finnish edit

Etymology edit

Ultimately from Italian motto (“a word, a saying”).

Pronunciation edit

  • IPA(key): /ˈmotːo/, [ˈmo̞t̪ːo̞]
  • Rhymes: -otːo
  • Syllabification(key): mot‧to

Noun edit

motto

  1. motto (sentence or a phrase with guiding principle)
    Synonym: tunnuslause
  2. epigraph (literary quotation placed at the beginning of a book or other text)
    Synonym: epigrafi
  3. (heraldry) motto
    Synonyms: tunnuslause, vaalilause

Declension edit

Inflection of motto (Kotus type 1*C/valo, tt-t gradation)
nominative motto motot
genitive moton mottojen
partitive mottoa mottoja
illative mottoon mottoihin
singular plural
nominative motto motot
accusative nom. motto motot
gen. moton
genitive moton mottojen
partitive mottoa mottoja
inessive motossa motoissa
elative motosta motoista
illative mottoon mottoihin
adessive motolla motoilla
ablative motolta motoilta
allative motolle motoille
essive mottona mottoina
translative motoksi motoiksi
abessive mototta motoitta
instructive — motoin
comitative See the possessive forms below.
Possessive forms of motto (Kotus type 1*C/valo, tt-t gradation)
first-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative mottoni mottoni
accusative nom. mottoni mottoni
gen. mottoni
genitive mottoni mottojeni
partitive mottoani mottojani
inessive motossani motoissani
elative motostani motoistani
illative mottooni mottoihini
adessive motollani motoillani
ablative motoltani motoiltani
allative motolleni motoilleni
essive mottonani mottoinani
translative motokseni motoikseni
abessive motottani motoittani
instructive — —
comitative — mottoineni
second-person singular possessor
singular plural
nominative mottosi mottosi
accusative nom. mottosi mottosi
gen. mottosi
genitive mottosi mottojesi
partitive mottoasi mottojasi
inessive motossasi motoissasi
elative motostasi motoistasi
illative mottoosi mottoihisi
adessive motollasi motoillasi
ablative motoltasi motoiltasi
allative motollesi motoillesi
essive mottonasi mottoinasi
translative motoksesi motoiksesi
abessive motottasi motoittasi
instructive — —
comitative — mottoinesi
first-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative mottomme mottomme
accusative nom. mottomme mottomme
gen. mottomme
genitive mottomme mottojemme
partitive mottoamme mottojamme
inessive motossamme motoissamme
elative motostamme motoistamme
illative mottoomme mottoihimme
adessive motollamme motoillamme
ablative motoltamme motoiltamme
allative motollemme motoillemme
essive mottonamme mottoinamme
translative motoksemme motoiksemme
abessive motottamme motoittamme
instructive — —
comitative — mottoinemme
second-person plural possessor
singular plural
nominative mottonne mottonne
accusative nom. mottonne mottonne
gen. mottonne
genitive mottonne mottojenne
partitive mottoanne mottojanne
inessive motossanne motoissanne
elative motostanne motoistanne
illative mottoonne mottoihinne
adessive motollanne motoillanne
ablative motoltanne motoiltanne
allative motollenne motoillenne
essive mottonanne mottoinanne
translative motoksenne motoiksenne
abessive motottanne motoittanne
instructive — —
comitative — mottoinenne
third-person possessor
singular plural
nominative mottonsa mottonsa
accusative nom. mottonsa mottonsa
gen. mottonsa
genitive mottonsa mottojensa
partitive mottoaan
mottoansa 		mottojaan
mottojansa
inessive motossaan
motossansa 		motoissaan
motoissansa
elative motostaan
motostansa 		motoistaan
motoistansa
illative mottoonsa mottoihinsa
adessive motollaan
motollansa 		motoillaan
motoillansa
ablative motoltaan
motoltansa 		motoiltaan
motoiltansa
allative motolleen
motollensa 		motoilleen
motoillensa
essive mottonaan
mottonansa 		mottoinaan
mottoinansa
translative motokseen
motoksensa 		motoikseen
motoiksensa
abessive motottaan
motottansa 		motoittaan
motoittansa
instructive — —
comitative — mottoineen
mottoinensa

Derived terms edit

compounds

Further reading edit

Anagrams edit

Italian edit

Etymology edit

From Latin muttum (“mutter”). Compare Catalan and French mot (“word”).

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

motto m (plural motti)

  1. witty remark
  2. motto, maxim
  3. posy (motto inscribed inside a ring)
  4. (Gallicism) word

Descendants edit

  • → English: motto
  • → German: Motto

Further reading edit

  • motto in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Japanese edit

Romanization edit

motto

  1. Rōmaji transcription of もっと

Nauruan edit

Noun edit

motto

  1. motto

Norwegian Bokmål edit

 
Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Etymology edit

From Italian motto.

Noun edit

motto n (definite singular mottoet, indefinite plural motto or mottoer, definite plural mottoa or mottoene)

  1. a motto

References edit

Norwegian Nynorsk edit

 
Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Etymology edit

From Italian motto.

Noun edit

motto n (definite singular mottoet, indefinite plural motto, definite plural mottoa)

  1. a motto

References edit

Polish edit

 
Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Italian motto, from Latin muttum.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

motto n

  1. philosophy, motto, watchword, byword
    Synonyms: dewiza, credo
  2. (literature) epigraph (literary quotation placed at the beginning of a text)
    Synonym: epigraf

Declension edit

Declension of motto
singular plural
nominative motto motta
genitive motta mott
dative mottu mottom
accusative motto motta
instrumental mottem mottami
locative motcie mottach
vocative motto motta

Further reading edit

  • motto in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • motto in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Romanian edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Italian motto or German Motto.

Noun edit

motto n (plural mottouri)

  1. motto

Declension edit

Declension of motto
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) motto mottoul (niște) mottouri mottourile
genitive/dative (unui) motto mottoului (unor) mottouri mottourilor
vocative mottoule mottourilor

Swedish edit

Etymology edit

Borrowed from Italian motto, from Late Latin muttum.

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

motto n

  1. a motto

Declension edit

Declension of motto 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative motto mottot motton mottona
Genitive mottos mottots mottons mottonas

See also edit

References edit

Ye'kwana edit

Alternative forms edit

Pronunciation edit

Noun edit

motto

  1. a kind of long earthworm or caecilian used as a sacred food during major life events and at the end of any fast

Related terms edit

References edit

  • Cáceres, Natalia (2011) “mottoo”, in Grammaire Fonctionnelle-Typologique du Ye’kwana‎[2], Lyon
  • Hall, Katherine Lee (1988) “motto”, in The morphosyntax of discourse in De'kwana Carib, volumes I and II, Saint Louis, Missouri: PhD Thesis, Washington University
  • Hall, Katherine (2007) “motto”, in Mary Ritchie Key & Bernard Comrie, editors, The Intercontinental Dictionary Series‎[3], Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, published 2021
  • The template Template:R:mch:Guss does not use the parameter(s): 
    head=motto
    Please see Module:checkparams for help with this warning.    Guss, David M. (1989) To Weave and Sing: Art, Symbol, and Narrative in the South American Rain Forest, Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, →ISBN, pages 30, 133
  • The template Template:R:mch:Monterrey does not use the parameter(s): 
    head=motto
    Please see Module:checkparams for help with this warning.    Monterrey, Nalúa Rosa Silva (2012) Hombres de curiara y mujeres de conuco. Etnografía de los indigenas Ye’kwana de Venezuela, Ciudad Bolívar: Universidad Nacional Experimental de Guayana, page 36
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