English
motor
Motor comes from Middle English motour ‘controller, prime mover’, 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’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmōtor‘mover’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500motour‘controller’
- Englishearliest quotation 1907motor
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’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEmōtor‘mover’
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500motour‘controller’
- Englishearliest quotation 1907motor
Earliest quotation: 1907, Robert William Chambers, His Own People: “It was flood-tide along Fifth Avenue; motor, brougham, and…”
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, automotive, promoter, immobile, emotionless, 85 more
through Latin moveō ‘to move, stir, set in motion’
mobile, remove, emotional, auto, promote, promotion, remote, mobility, emotion, motive, motivate, mobilization, removable, mobilize, motif, mobilisation, mobilise, motility, emote, motile, 65 more
Today it means
noun A machine or device that converts other energy forms into mechanical energy, or imparts motion.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- / motor