motivate

Etymology

It is formed from English motive + -ate,^{[2][3][4][5][6]} after French motiver (“to give the reasons for; to serve as a motive”) and German motivieren (“to give reasons for; to provide an incentive”), itself from French.^[2][5] Barnhart and Etymonline say it was perhaps modelled on them.^[4][3] The noun motive is motif, from Medieval Latin mōtīvus (“moving, impelling”), from Latin mōtus, the past participle of moveō (“to move”).^[7][3] In South Africa the sense "to justify, give reasons for" probably owes something to Afrikaans motiveer.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

To give a person a motive or incentive to act: 1794, in J. Stewart's Tocsin of Britannia, according to the OED, revised in 2024.^[2] Merriam-Webster dates it to 1836,^[8] Etymonline and Barnhart to 1863,^[3][4] and Dictionary.com to 1860–65.^[6]

Semantic evolution

Soon after the first sense the verb was used for supplying the motive for an action or decision (1837), often in the passive, and for giving the characters of a novel or play a reason for what they do (1853).^[2] The noun motivation followed in 1873.^[4] Merriam-Webster also records stimulating a person's active interest in a subject, as a teacher does.^[8] Since 1964 South African English has used the verb for justifying something, or for proposing or requesting something with supporting arguments.^[2] In African-American and campus slang from 1938, motivate meant to move along or leave, a play on motorvate.^[9]

Timeline

• 1794 – to give someone a motive or incentive.^[2]
• 1836 – Merriam-Webster's first date.^[8]
• 1837 – to supply the motive for an action.^[2]
• 1853 – to give characters in a literary work a motive.^[2]
• 1863 – Etymonline's and Barnhart's first date.^[3][4]
• 1873 – the noun motivation.^[4]
• 1938 – slang, to move, go, leave.^[9]
• 1964 – South African, to justify, give reasons for.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To give someone a motive or incentive to act: The bonus motivated the staff to finish early.^[10][8][2]
2. To arouse a person's interest or enthusiasm, as in a subject of study.^[8][5]
3. To be the reason for an action or decision: The attack was motivated by jealousy.^[2][5]
4. To give the characters of a story a believable reason for what they do.^[8][2]
5. (South Africa) To justify something, or propose it with supporting arguments.^[2]

Word family

• motivator
• motivative
• remotivate

Related words

• motivation
• motive
• move
• motion

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
5. ^ a b c d Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ a b c d e f Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
9. ^ a b Green, Jonathon (2010), Green's Dictionary of Slang, London: Chambers; digital ed. 2016–, https://greensdictofslang.com
10. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins