Scottish National Dictionary (1700–)
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First published 1976 (SND Vol. X).
This entry has not been updated since then but may contain minor corrections and revisions.
MOTE, n.4 Number, crowd.Ags. 1874 T. Guthrie Autobiography I. 328:
There was a terrible mote o' folk the first Sabbath.
[Ad. Eng. mote, variant of moot, a meeting, assembly, as in folk-mote. There may have been some influence from Gael. mod, from the same orig.]