Meaning

noun the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior

noun the condition of being motivated

noun the act of motivating; providing incentive

originEtymology tree Anglo-Norman motifder. Middle French motifder. Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁-der. Proto-Italic *moweō Late Latin moveō Late Latin mōtus Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Late Latin -īvus Late Latin mōtīvumder. Middle English motif English motive Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0