A Moot, Not Mute, Point

Yesterday, I was at a conference and was puzzled when one of the presenters referred not once, but twice, to a 'mute point'. At the time, he was referring to an aspect of our new syllabus which required no further discussion as a resolution to concerns around this area had already been achieved. His use of the term 'mute' rather than 'moot' did have me squirming in my seat although I was keen to check my facts before I became too confident that I was correct in my feeling that the term should have been 'moot point' instead.

My suspicions that the term was misused yesterday have been confirmed, after a little research, although it appears that it is a common error. In the process I learnt a little more too, for which I'm always grateful.

An explanation from Washington State University's website was simple and clear:

“Moot” is a very old word related to “meeting,” specifically a meeting where serious matters are discussed. Oddly enough, a moot point can be a point worth discussing at a meeting (or in court)—an unresolved question—or it can be the opposite: a point already settled and not worth discussing further. At any rate, “mute point” is simply wrong, as is the less common “mood point.” (accessed at 9:15pm 16/05/09, http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/mute.html)

The misuse of a very similar word in place of the correct word is known as a malaproprism, but more on that some other time...

http://www.wordwriteforsuccess.com.au/