An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Motte

by Friedrich Kluge

Motte, feminine, from the equivalent late Middle High German matte, feminine, ‘moth’ (tt originated in Gothic and Old Teutonic þþ, as in Fittich, Latte, and spotten). Gothic *muþþô is wanting; compare Anglo-Saxon moþþe, feminine, Middle English moþþe, English moth, Dutch mot (t for tt from þþ), ‘moth’; also the curious variants, Middle High German matte, feminine (Gothic *maþþa), Anglo-Saxon mohþe, feminine, Middle English moughþe, ‘moth’ (Old Icelandic motte, masculine. ‘moth,’ with the same permutation of þþ to tt as in Dutch). Perhaps the cognates discussed under Made are akin.