A Moat Stops Tunnels, Not Just Attackers
A moat is a defensive ditch around a castle. Its real value was underground.
A moat is a deep ditch, often water-filled, surrounding a castle or town wall. Its most important function was not stopping men on foot but stopping miners: a water-filled ditch made it far harder to dig a tunnel under the wall, since the excavation would flood. Against ladders and rams a moat only bought time, but against siege tunnelling it was close to decisive. The word came from Old French *motte*, which meant the mound rather than the ditch — the sense moved from the heap of earth to the hole it came out of.
- A defensive ditch. *A castle moat.*
- A dry moat. *A dry moat.*
- To surround with a ditch. *A moated house.*
- Motte — the original mound. *A motte.*
- Old French — *motte*. *The source.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | moat | A moat. |
| Plural | moats | Moats. |
| Adjective | moated | A moated grange. |
| Related | motte | A motte. |
| Old French | motte | A mound. |
- The moat was full of water.Castle.
- A flooded tunnel could not be dug.Defence.
- Motte meant the mound.Etymology.
Castle defences
- Moat — blocks tunnelling and slows approach
- Curtain wall — the main enclosing barrier
- Barbican — a fortified outwork guarding the gate
- Portcullis — a heavy grille dropped in the gateway
- Murder holes — openings above the gate passage
Old French *motte*, a mound or clod, the sense shifting from the earth heap to the surrounding ditch.
Why did castles have water-filled moats?
Chiefly to stop besiegers tunnelling under the walls, since any tunnel would flood. Against ladders a moat only bought time.
Did moat originally mean the ditch?
No. Old French motte meant the mound of earth. The sense shifted to the hollow the earth was dug from.