motivation

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈməʊ.tɪ.veɪ.ʃən/ (UK); /ˈmoʊ.tə.veɪ.ʃən/ (US)^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from motivate or motive and -ation,^[2][3][4][5] perhaps after German Motivation, attested by 1854.^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

The act of providing an incentive: 1873.^[2][6][3]

Semantic evolution

In psychology and sociology, the conscious or unconscious stimulus for action towards a goal is from 1904.^[2][6] Manner of movement (1946) and motivation research in advertising (1958) are later uses.^[6]

Timeline

• 1873 – providing an incentive.^[2][6]
• 1904 – in psychology.^[2][6]
• 1958 – motivation research.^[6]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. The reason or reasons for acting in a particular way.
2. Enthusiasm or willingness to do something; drive.

Word family

• motivational
• motivationally
• motivative
• demotivation
• nonmotivation
• remotivation

Related words

• motivate
• motive
• motion
• emotion

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
4. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
5. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
6. ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press