Mot
Girlfriend. Almost always 'the mot' or 'me mot'. A working Dublin word for a woman one is going out with, neutral in register and used freely by speakers of both sexes about each other and about others.
Etymology
Probably from Dutch 'mot' (woman). The popular suggestion of Irish 'maith' as a source is less supported in the lexicographic record. The word entered British vernacular by the eighteenth century with a broader and often pejorative sense (a woman, especially a low-status one); Dublin English narrowed and softened the use to its modern affectionate 'girlfriend' meaning. G. Parker recorded it in 'The Sandman's Wedding' in 1789, which puts the printed history older than much Hiberno-English vocabulary.
In a sentence
"He's bringing the mot to the match on Saturday."
Historical notes
Mot is a Dublin word with sharp boundaries: deeply familiar inside the city, slightly exotic outside it, almost unknown in Ulster and rare in Munster. The narrowed Dublin sense - the partner - is also distinctively gentler than the older British sense the word travelled from. The construction 'me mot' (= my mot) is the most natural form; 'his mot', 'her mot', 'the mot' all follow.
Sources
- Oxford English Dictionary, entry mot n. (slang). · dictionary
- Parker, G. The Sandman's Wedding (1789). · academic