Etymologically
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motion

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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
  • 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)