Vocabulary Question 'moot'

Yes, it is correct. However, it is an obsolete form, and even native speakers of English may not recognize it. It is perfectly acceptable English, however.

By the way, the word derives from an Old English (Anglo-Saxon) verb, gemoot, which had the very specific meaning of the freemen of a shire, a county, coming together to discuss and decide matters of common interest. It really would not be reasonable to say that you moot a question in an English forum, because you are not bringing up a matter for discussion among equals, but are asking a question to get information from people with greater expertise. When used as a verb today, it still has the meaning of bringing something up for discussion at a meeting. (Moot and meet have a common linguistic ancestor, in, i believe, Old Frisian, one of the root languages of English.)

Hi Setanta,
can I say'I always need to moot ideas in a meeting '?

You could say that, although, right off hand, i can't think of a context in which it would be meaningful. Let's say: "Loh Jane mooted the idea of creating an English learners group when she met with her classmates." Keep in mind, it's an obsolete form--native speakers of English would very likely not use it in casual conversation; it would only be likely to be seen in a written text.

Thank you.

You're welcome.

I think it would elicit blank looks from most people if used in conversation, and only a very dull kind of writer would use it. "The idea of a floral decoration of the cathedral at Easter was first mooted at a meeting of the Committee of Deacons in 1934."

Thanks Jane for that q. After some seven plus decades using the term I had never realized it could also be a verb. Not everyday……...