motive 
By motive, I mean the whole of that which moves, ex- 
cites, or invites the mind to volition, whether that be one 
thing singly, or many things conjunctly. 
Edwards, On the Freedom of the Will, i. 2. 
When the effect or tendency of a motive is to determine 
a man to forbear to act, it may seem improper to make 
use of the term motive ; since motive, properly speaking, 
means that which disposes an object to move. We must, 
however, use that improper term, or a term which, though 
proper enough, is scarce in use, the word determinative. 
Bentham, Introd. to Morals and Legislation, x. 3, note. 
2. The design or object one has in any action ; 
intention; purpose; the ideal object of desire. 
The conversion of the heathen was the motive to the 
settlement. Bancroft, Hist. U. S., I. 20. 
We must measure morality by motives, not by deeds. 
a. Spencer, Social Statics, p. 250. 
3. One who or that which is the cause of some- 
thing ; an originator. 
It hath fated her to be my motive 
And helper to a husband. 
Shak.; All's Well, iv. 4. 20. 
Nor are they living 
Who were the motives that you first went out. 
Shak., T. of A., v. 4. 27. 
4f. Movement. 
Her wanton spirits look out 
At every joint and motive of her body. 
Shak., T. and C., iv. 5. 57. 
5. Prevailing design. Specifically (a) In music, 
same as subject. (b) In the fine arts (I) the prevailing 
idea in the mind of an artist, to which he endeavors to 
give expression in his work ; or (2) a subject or example 
prominently characteristic of any work or part of a work, 
and elaborated or often repeated with more or less varia- 
tion. 
The Panathenaic procession furnished Pheidias with a 
series of sculptural motives, which he had only to express 
according to the principles of his art. 
J. A. Symonds, Italy and Greece, p. 218. 
6f. Motion; proposition. 
Suche motyues the! moeue this maistres in her glorie, 
And maken men in mysbileue that muse moche on her 
wordes. Piers Plowman (B), x. 113. 
Leading motive. See leading^. = Syn. 1. Motive, Reason, 
Inducement, Incentive, Impulse, consideration, prompting, 
stimulus. The differences among the first five of these 
words are suggested by the derivations. A motive is that 
which moves one to act, addressing the will, as though di- 
rectly, and determining the choice; it is the common 
Shilosophical term, and may be collective : as, the whole 
eld of motive. A reason is that which addresses the ra- 
tional nature by way of argument for either belief or 
choice. An inducement leads one on by his desire for 
good : as. to hold out an additional inducement. An in- 
centive urges one on like martial music. An impulse drives 
one on, but is transitory. 
motive (mo'tiv), v. t,; pret. and pp. motived, 
ppr. motiving. [< motive, .] To act on as a 
motive, or with the force of a motive ; prompt; 
instigate. [Recent.] 
When he has satisfied himself . . . that it was made by 
such a person as he, so armed and so motived, . . . the 
problem is solved. Emerson, Essays, 1st ser., p. 10. 
motiveless (mo'tiv-les), a. [< motive + -less.'] 
Having no motive or aim ; objectless. 
Though inconceivable, a motiveless volition would, if 
conceived possible, be conceived as morally worthless. 
Sir W. Hamilton. 
motivelessness (mp'tiv-les-nes), . The char- 
acter of being motiveless. 
That calm which Gwendolen had promised herself to 
maintain had changed into sick motivelessness. 
George Eliot, Daniel Deroada, xxiv. 
motivity (mo-tiv'i-ti), n. [< motive + -ity."] 
The power of moving; form of motion or loco- 
motion. 
The active power of moving, or, as I may call it, motiv- 
ity. Locke, Human Understanding, II. xxiii. 28. 
motley (mot'li), . and a. [Formerly also mot- 
ly ; <ME. motteleye, mottelay, mottelee, motle, a 
mixture of colors, a party-colored dress ; of un- 
certain origin. According to Skeat, < OF. 
mattele, clotted, curdled, cf. equiv. mattonne, 
curdled, < mattes, curds, < G. dial. (Bav.) matte, 
curds ; but the sense does not suit. In meaning 
the word motley is like medley ; but the forms 
disagree. The supposed derivation from W. 
mudliw, a changing color, < mud, change, + lliw, 
a stain, hue, and that from W. ysmot, a patch, 
spot, do not suit the conditions. Hence mottle.] 
I. n. 1. A habit made of pieces of cloth of 
different colors in glaring contrast : the usual 
dress of the jester or professional fool. 
A worthy fool ! motley 's the only wear ! 
SAa*., As you Like it, ii. 6. 34. 
Hence 2. A jester; a fool. 
Will you be married, motley! 
Shak., As you Like it, iii. 3. 79. 
3. Any mixture, as of colors. 
With notes to each and all, interlacing the pages into a 
motley of patchwork. 
D. G. Mitchell, Wet Days at Edgewood. 
A motley of white and gray on the head, neck, shoul- 
ders, and back. Amer. Nat., May, 1889, p. 449. 
3874 
Man of motleyt, a man dressed in motley ; a fool. 
Never hope, 
After I cast you off, you men of motley. 
Fletcher, Wit without Money, iii. 4. 
II. <i. 1. Party-colored; variegated in color ; 
consisting of different colors : as, a motley coat. 
Expence and after-thought, and idle care, 
And doubts of motley hue, and dark despair. 
Dryden. 
2. Composed of or exhibiting a combination of 
discordant elements; heterogeneous in compo- 
sition; diversified. 
Inquire from whence this motley style 
Did first our Roman purity defile. - 
Dryden, tr. of Persius's Satires, i. 158. 
Motley color, in ceram., a kind of metallic luster given 
to some kinds of English pottery, in the seventeenth cen- 
tury and later, by dusting them with powdered lead and 
manganese. 
motleyt (mot'li), v. t. [< motley, n. Cf. mot- 
tle."] To variegate; give different colors to. 
The course of th' holy Lakes he leads, 
With thousand Dies bee motleys all the incudes. 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, ii., Eden. 
motley-minded (mot'li-mm'ded), a. Having 
a mind or character like that of a profes- 
sional fool or clown ; exhibiting incoherence 
in thought ; having thoughts of a motley char- 
acter. 
This is the motley-minded gentleman. 
Shak., As you Like it, v. 4. 41. 
motlyt, . and a. An obsolete spelling of mot- 
ley. 
motmot (mot'mot), n. [Also momot; said to be 
so named from the bird's note, which sounds like 
mot-mo t, slowly repeated.] A bird of the family 
Momotidce or Prionitidw; a sawbill. These birds 
are peculiar to America, inhabiting tropical and subtropi- 
cal forests, and ranging north nearly or quite to Texas. 
The average size is about that of the jays, to which they 
have some superficial resemblance ; but they are more like 
the bee-eaters of the Old World, Meropid<e, having a simi- 
lar Blender form, with long tail, of which the middle fea- 
thers project beyond the rest and are spatulate, forming a 
kind of racket. The bill is serrate, the coloration is varie- 
gated, chiefly greenish and bluish. These birds are of soli- 
tary habits, like kingfishers, to which they are closely re- 
lated ; they feed upon reptiles, insects, and fruits. See 
cut under Sfomotus. 
motq (mo'to), n. [It., = Pg. moto, < L. motus, 
motion: see mote 5 .} In music: (a) Motion; the 
direction in which the harmonic parts move : 
as, moto contrario (contrary motion). See mo- 
tion, 14. (b) Energetic or spirited movement ; 
spirit: as, con moto (with spirited movement). 
motograph (mo'to-graf), n. [< L. motus, mo- 
tion, + Gr. ypdfetv. write .] A form of telegraph- 
er telephone-receiver, invented by Edison, de- 
pending for its action on the variation of the 
friction between two conductors in relative mo- 
tion, when a current of electricity is passed from 
one to the other across the surface of contact. 
A revolving drum is interposed in the circuit, one of the 
electrical connections being made through a movable ter- 
minal in contact with the surface of the drum. This con- 
tact-piece is connected to a recording lever or to a telephon- 
ic diaphragm, and, in consequence of the variations of the 
friction produced by the electric currents, causes the lever 
to record, or the diaphragm to repeat, the message. 
motographic (mo-to-graf' ik), a. [< motograph 
+ -ic.] Of or pertaining to the motograph. 
There are models of ... the automatic and autographic 
telegraph, the motographic translator and repeater. 
Elect. Rev. (Amer.), XIV. 5. 
moton 1 t, n. An obsolete form of mutton. 
moton 2 t (mo'ton), n. [OF. (?).] A piece of ar- 
mor of the fifteenth century, forming part of the 
defense of the arm and shoulder. Perhaps (as 
thought by Meyrick) it was a gusset for the 
armpit. 
motonert, n. See muttoner. 
mptophone (mo'to-fon), n. [< L. motus, mo- 
tion, + Gr. (jxjvj/, voice.] A sound-engine actu- 
ated by aerial sound-waves, invented by Edison . 
Vibrations of a diaphragm, produced, as in the phonograph, 
by sound-waves, are converted into motion of rotation by a 
stylus and ratchet-wheel. 
motor (mo'tor), n. and a. [= F. moteur = Sp. 
Pg. motor = It. motore, a motor, < LL. motor, 
one who moves (applied to one who rocks a 
cradle), < L. movere, pp. motus, move : see move.'} 
I. n. 1. One who or that which imparts motion ; 
a source or originator of mechanical power ; a 
moving power, as water, steam, etc. 
These bodies likewise, being of a congenerous nature, 
do readily receive the impressions of their motor. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., ii. 2. 
Specifically 2. In math., an operator or a 
quantity which represents the displacement of 
a rigid body. It involves the designation of a particu- 
lar line in space, and the association with it of a length and 
an angle. 
mottetto 
This is in complete analogy with his [Clifford's] intro- 
duction of the word motor to embrace the species twist 
and wrench. The Academy, June 29, 1889, p. 452. 
3. Iii mtieli., i\ prime mover; a contrivance for 
developing and applying mechanically some 
natural force, as heat, pressure, weight, the 
tide, or the wind ; a machine which transforms 
the energy of water, steam, or electricity 
into mechanical energy: as, an electric mo- 
tor. See machine, 2. 4. In anat., specifical- 
ly, a motor nerve Air-motor, a machine driven by 
compressed air. Such machines are constructed like 
steam-engines, and use the air expansively or non-expan- 
sively, according to the character of the engine. They 
are, strictly speaking, heat-engines, in which the heat nat- 
urally existing in air, or this in connection with heat de- 
rived from the work of compression, is converted into 
outer work. When the air is used expansively, the ex- 
pansion is regulated by cut-off valve-gear, as in a steam- 
engine. Expansion is, however, not generally so available 
as with steam, on account of the chilling of the air during 
the period of expansion and consequent freezing of pre- 
cipitated aqueous vapor, which clogs the valve-ports with 
ice, and seriously interferes with the working of such en- 
gines. This difficulty is avoided by heating the air prior 
to its induction to the cylinder of the engine, but, except 
in the so-called caloric engine, this principle has not been 
widely adopted. See caloric engine (under caloric), ice-ma- 
chine, and cut under air-engine. Domestic motor, a 
small motor used for pumping water, orrunninga sewing- 
machine, etc. Electric motor. See electric. First 
motor, a prime motor. Hydraulic motor. See hy- 
draulic. Motor oculi, the third pair of cranial nerves, 
giving motor impulse to most of the muscles of the eye. 
Also called oculomotor. See second cut under brain. 
II. o. 1. Giving motion ; imparting motion. 
Asceticism throws away a great power given by God to 
help and improve us. It abandons to evil what might be 
a vast motor force leading to good. 
J. F. Clarke, Self-Culture, p. 392. 
2. Inphysiol., conveying from the centertoward 
the periphery an impulse that results or tends to 
result in motion, as a nerve : opposed to sensory. 
3. Of or pertaining to or acting through the 
motor nerves or tracts. 
A vigorous motor system, ready to act, and to act ener- 
getically, is a condition of a rapid development of will. 
J. Stdly, Outlines of Psychol., p. 598. 
Many cases of motor disturbance occur without the dis- 
turbance of sensation in the same extremity. 
G. T. Ladd, Physiol. Psychology, p. 284. 
Motor dynamo, a dynamo used as a motor. When one 
dynamo is being driven by another the driver is sometimes 
called the motor dynamo. Motor nerve, any nerve whose 
function is to excite muscular contraction, and thus effect 
movement in an animal body. Most nerves are of mixed 
character, or sensorimotor, effecting both motion and sen- 
sation. See vaiomotor. Motor printer, a printing tele- 
graph in which the mechanism is moved by electric, steam, 
or other motive power. 
motor-car (mo'tor-kar), n. A car which car- 
ries its own propelling mechanism, as an elec- 
tric motor, pneumatic engine, steam-engine, 
etc., and is therefore a locomotive. Many such 
cars have sufficient power to draw other cars 
attached to them. 
motorial (mo-to'ri-al), a. [< LL. motorius, 
motory (see motory), -H -al.~] Of or pertaining 
to motion; specifically, of or pertaining to a 
motor nerve; motor, as a nerve: as, motorial 
nerve-fibers; a motorial impulse. 
Recent observers have described the nbrilte of motor 
nerves as terminating in motorial end-plates. 
IT. B. Carpenter, Micros., 682. 
The motorial disorder in this disease [paralysis agitans] 
becomes bilateral. Pop. Sci. Mo., XXV. 175. 
motorium (mo-to'ri-um), n. ; pi. motoria (-a). 
[NL., < LL. motorium, the power of motion, 
neut. of motorius, moving: see motory."] That 
part of an organism which moves or is moved, 
as distinguished from that which feels, senses, 
or perceives: the opposite of sensorium. Since 
a sensorium has no determinable physical location, the 
motorium is the entire physical organism. Motorium 
commune, a hypothetical common center in the brain 
for motor impulses. 
motorius (mo-t6'ri-us),M.; pl.motorii(-l'). [NL., 
< LL. motorius, moving : see motory."] In anat. 
and physiol., same as motor, 4 Motorius oculi. 
Same as motor oculi or oculomotor. More fully called ner- 
vus motorius oculi. 
motorpathic (mo-tor-path'ik), a. [< motor- 
path-y + -ic.'} Of or belonging to motorpathy 
or the movement-cure ; kinesitherapeutic. 
motorpathy (mo-tor'pa-thi), . [Irreg. < L. 
jwofor, a mover (see motor), + Gr. -jrafeo^Ordftjf, 
suffering: eeepatnos.'] In med., the movement- 
cure; kinesitherapy. 
motory (mo'to-ri), a. [= Pg. motorio, < LL. 
motorius, moving, < L. motor, mover: see mo- 
tor, .] Same as motor or motorial. 
mottH. An obsolete preterit of mete. 
mott 2 t, n. An obsolete form of mot z . 
motteleyt, . and a. An obsolete form of motley. 
mottetto (mot-tet'to), n. [It.: see motet.'] 
Same as motet. 
