Definition: Motto

From New World Encyclopedia
(Redirected from Motto)

Etymology

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

Noun

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.
    The motto of the bishop, eminent for his piety and good works, was "Serve God, and be cheerful."

Verb

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

  1. (intransitive) To compose mottos.

Credits

New World Encyclopedia writers and editors copied and adjusted this Wiktionary entry in accordance with NWE standards. This article abides by terms of the Creative Commons CC-by-sa 3.0 License (CC-by-sa), which may be used and disseminated with proper attribution. Credit for this article is due to both New World Encyclopedia contributors and the selfless volunteer contributors of the Wikimedia Foundation. To cite this article click here for a list acceptable citing formats.The history of earlier contributions at Wiktionary is accessible to researchers here: