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 a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music

noun a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration

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 From Middle English motif, from Anglo-Norman motif, Middle French motif, and their source, Late Latin motivum…

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 3.0