▪ I. † ˈmotey, n. Obs.
? Some pigment.
| 1426–7 Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1905) 66 Also for vj dischis cole & xij lb moty..x d. 1446–7 in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) I. 395 Et in empcione .x. dd motey pro superornacione caminorum..iijs. 1510 Ibid. II. 199 Mastyke vernysch yelowe moty orpment vermylyon. |
▪ II. motey, a.
(ˈməʊtɪ)
Also 8 motie, 9 moatie, moity.
[f. mote n.1 + -y. Cf. motty.]
1. Full of tiny particles; full of specks, spotty.
| a 1758 Ramsay Highland Lassie ii, [Lasses] wha mak their cheeks with patches motie. 1893 R. Bridges Shorter Poems v. Winnowers 21 The sunbeams on the motey air Streamed through the open door. |
2. Of wool: Full of small hard pieces.
| 1851 [see mote n.1]. 1878 Yorkshireman Aug. 93 (E.D.D.) A splendid lot [of wool].., not moity, and free from burr. |