English
motive
Motive comes from Late Latin mōtīvum, from Latin moveō ‘to move, stir, set in motion’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁-.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)ewh₁-‘to move’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)owh₁éyetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moweō‘to move’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoveō‘to move, stir, set in motion’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmōtus
- Late Latinmodernmōtīvum
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500motif
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1602motive
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)ewh₁-‘to move’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)owh₁éyetireconstructed
- Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moweō‘to move’reconstructed
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoveō‘to move, stir, set in motion’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmōtus
- Late Latinmodernmōtīvum
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500motif
- Englishearliest quotation c. 1602motive
Earliest quotation: c. 1602, William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Troylus and Cressida: “every joint and motive of her body”.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- ‘to move’
through Proto-Indo-European *m(y)owh₁éyeti
through Proto-Italic *moweō ‘to move’
move, momentum, automobile, promoter, immobile, emotionless, 87 more
through Latin moveō ‘to move, stir, set in motion’
mobile, auto, remove, promote, emotional, motor, remote, promotion, mobility, emotion, removable, mobilize, mobilization, mobilisation, mobilise, emote, 66 more
through Latin mōtus
Today it means
noun An idea or communication that makes one want to act, especially from spiritual sources; a divine prompting.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- / motive