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Webster 1913 Edition

Motive

Mo′tive

,
Noun.
[F.
motif
, LL.
motivum
, from
motivus
moving, fr. L.
movere
,
motum
, to move. See
Move
.]
1.
That which moves; a mover.
[Obs.]
Shak.
2.
That which incites to action; anything prompting or exciting to choise, or moving the will; cause; reason; inducement; object; motivation{2}.
By
motive
, I mean the whole of that which
moves
, excites, or invites the mind to volition, whether that be one thing singly, or many things conjunctively.
J. Edwards.
3.
(Mus.)
The theme or subject; a leading phrase or passage which is reproduced and varied through the course of a comor a movement; a short figure, or melodic germ, out of which a whole movement is develpoed. See also
Leading motive
, under
Leading
.
[Written also
motivo
.]
4.
(Fine Arts)
That which produces conception, invention, or creation in the mind of the artist in undertaking his subject; the guiding or controlling idea manifested in a work of art, or any part of one.
Syn. – Incentive; incitement; inducement; reason; spur; stimulus; cause.
–
Motive
,
Inducement
,
Reason
. Motive is the word originally used in speaking of that which determines the choice. We call it an inducement when it is attractive in its nature. We call it a reason when it is more immediately addressed to the intellect in the form of argument.

Mo′tive

,
Adj.
Causing motion; having power to move, or tending to move;
as, a
motive
argument;
motive
power
.
“Motive faculty.”
Bp. Wilkins.
Motive power
(Mach.)
,
a natural agent, as water, steam, wind, electricity, etc., used to impart motion to machinery; a motor; a mover.

Mo′tive

,
Verb.
T.
To prompt or incite by a motive or motives; to move.

Webster 1828 Edition

Motive

MO'TIVE

,
Adj.
[See the Noun.] Causing motion; having power to move or tending to move; as a motive argument; motive power.

MO'TIVE

, n.
1.
That which incites to action; that which determines the choice, or moves the will. Thus we speak of good motives, and bad motives; strong and weak motives. The motive to continue at rest is ease or satisfaction; the motive to change is uneasiness, or the prospect of good.
2.
That which may or ought to incite to action; reason; cause.
3.
A mover. [Not in use.]

Definition 2024

Motive

Motive

See also: motive and motivé

German

Noun

Motive

  1. plural of Motiv

motive

motive

See also: Motive and motivé

English

Noun

motive ‎(plural motives)

  1. (obsolete) An idea or communication that makes one want to act, especially from spiritual sources; a divine prompting. [14th-17th c.]
  2. An incentive to act in a particular way; a reason or emotion that makes one want to do something; anything that prompts a choice of action. [from 15th c.]
    • 1947, Malcolm Lowry, Under the Volcano:
      Many of them at first seemed kind to him, but it turned out their motives were not entirely altruistic.
  3. (obsolete, rare) A limb or other bodily organ that can move. [15th-17th c.]
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
  4. (law) Something which causes someone to want to commit a crime; a reason for criminal behaviour. [from 18th c.]
    What would his motive be for burning down the cottage?
    No-one could understand why she had hidden the shovel; her motives were obscure at best.
    • 1931, Francis Beeding, chapter 10/6, in Death Walks in Eastrepps:
      “Why should Eldridge commit murder? […] There was only one possible motive—namely, he wished to avoid detection as James Selby of Anaconda Ltd. […]”
  5. (architecture, fine arts) A motif. [from 19th c.]
  6. (music) A motif; a theme or subject, especially one that is central to the work or often repeated. [from 19th c.]
    If you listen carefully, you can hear the flutes mimicking the cello motive.

Synonyms

Translations

Verb

motive ‎(third-person singular simple present motives, present participle motiving, simple past and past participle motived)

  1. (transitive) To prompt or incite by a motive or motives; to move.

Synonyms

Translations

Adjective

motive ‎(not comparable)

  1. Causing motion; having power to move, or tending to move; as, a motive argument; motive power.
    • 1658, Sir Thomas Browne, The Garden of Cyrus, Folio Society 2007, p. 195:
      In the motive parts of animals may be discovered mutuall proportions; not only in those of Quadrupeds, but in the thigh-bone, legge, foot-bone, and claws of Birds.
  2. Relating to motion and/or to its cause

Synonyms

Translations

Anagrams

French

Verb

motive

  1. first-person singular present indicative of motiver
  2. third-person singular present indicative of motiver
  3. first-person singular present subjunctive of motiver
  4. third-person singular present subjunctive of motiver
  5. second-person singular imperative of motiver

Latin

Adjective

mōtive

  1. vocative masculine singular of mōtivus

Portuguese

Verb

motive

  1. first-person singular present subjunctive of motivar
  2. third-person singular present subjunctive of motivar
  3. first-person singular imperative of motivar
  4. third-person singular imperative of motivar

Romanian

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [moˈtive]

Noun

motive

  1. plural of motiv

Serbo-Croatian

Noun

motive ‎(Cyrillic spelling мотиве)

  1. accusative plural of motiv
  2. vocative singular of motiv

Spanish

Verb

motive

  1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of motivar.
  2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of motivar.
  3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of motivar.
  4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted?) present subjunctive form of motivar.

Etymology

Middle English motif, from Anglo-Norman motif, Middle French motif, and their source, Late Latin motivum ‎(“motive, moving cause”), neuter of motivus ‎(“serving to move”).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˈməʊtɪv/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˈmoʊtɪv/

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