motte

noun2

1. •
   A raised earth mound, often topped with a wooden or stone structure and surrounded with a ditch.

   • The motte was a mound made of earth and surrounded by a ditch. — 2013
2. •
   An argument which is uncontroversial and easy to defend (in the context of a motte and bailey fallacy).

   • "Birds are dinosaurs" is the bailey; "birds are more similar to dinosaurs than anything else" is the motte. — 2023