motion

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈməʊ.ʃən/, US /ˈmoʊ.ʃən/^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English mocioun,^[2][3][4] borrowed from Old French motion (“movement, motion; change, alteration”), mocion,^[3][2] and directly from Latin motionem (“a moving, motion; an emotion”),^[3][2] from the past participle stem of movēre (“to move”),^[3][2][5] from Proto-Indo-European *meue- (“to push away”).^[3] It is related to move, motive and emotion.^[2][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

A suggestion or proposal: about 1385, in Chaucer's Troilus and Criseyde, according to Barnhart.^[2] The process of moving is from before 1398, in Trevisa's translation of Bartholomew,^[2] the late 14th century in Etymonline,^[3] 1412–20 in the OED.^[6]

Semantic evolution

The legal sense, an application to a court or judge, is from about 1400.^[3] Movement of a living body or its parts, a gesture, is from 1588,^[6] the power of moving from 1603,^[6] and a manner of walking from 1598.^[6] A formal proposal in a meeting or assembly is from the 16th century in Hoad.^[5] Set in motion is from the 1590s and in motion from about 1600.^[3] The verb meant to request or petition from 1476 in Barnhart,^[2] the late 15th century in Etymonline;^[3] to propose formally is by 1747,^[3] and to direct by a gesture from 1787 in Etymonline,^[3] 1747 in Merriam-Webster.^[7] Motionless is from 1599, in Shakespeare's Henry V,^[2] motion picture from 1896 and motion sickness from 1942, both American English.^[2] In Worcestershire, to go through the motion was to go through the usual form.^[8]

Timeline

• c. 1385 – a proposal.^[2]
• a. 1398 – the process of moving.^[2]
• c. 1400 – a motion in court.^[3]
• 1476 – verb, to request.^[2]
• 1588 – a gesture.^[6]
• 1599 – motionless.^[2]
• 1747 – verb, to propose; to gesture.^[3][7]
• 1896 – motion picture.^[2]
• 1942 – motion sickness.^[2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The act or process of changing position or place; movement.
2. A gesture that conveys meaning.
3. The ability to move, or the manner of moving.
4. A formal proposal put to a meeting or assembly for discussion and vote.
5. (law) An application to a court for a ruling or order.
6. An emptying of the bowels.

Verb

1. To signal or direct by a gesture: motioned him to sit.

Word family

• motional
• motionless
• motionlessly
• motionlessness
• motioner

Related words

• emotion
• motile
• motive
• move
• movement
• stop-motion
• commotion
• promotion

References

1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ a b c Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
8. ^ Wright, Joseph, ed. (1898–1905), The English Dialect Dictionary, 6 vols., Oxford: Henry Frowde; via EDD Online 4.0, University of Innsbruck (CC BY 4.0)