jmh -
Interesting isn't it how our language changes before our very eyes (ears?), sometimes so subtlely that we don't notice! My father is still ranting about the "new" verbs - to host and to parent, not to mention what he considers the grammatical disaster of "It's me!" And then, there's that wonderful word - gay. I find it sad that "gay" now carries such baggage for some people that we can essentially no longer use it to mean - light hearted and happy.
Sparteye -
yes, I knew about the Moot Halls and moot court... The Anglo Saxons (of Beowulfian times) met in Moot Halls to hold a "gemot" or "meeting" (cf www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/560-975dooms.html#Glossary). When I was at Pitt (pre-PC days!) the law students there had to argue before a moot court. It was the only time I saw an otherwise cocky law-student housemate have a fit of nerves! Thanks for this little diversion - haven't delved into Anglo-Saxon in years!
