motor

Pronunciation

• IPA (Classical): [ˈmoː.tɔr]^[1]
• IPA (Ecclesiastical): [ˈmɔː.tor]^[1]

Forms

mōtor m (genitive mōtōris); third declension^[1]

Etymology

It is from moveō “to move” with the agent suffix -tor.^[2][1][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

The OLD and Gaffiot cite Martial, of the one who rocked the poet's cradle.^[2][4] Köbler dates Martial 40–102/103 AD.^[5]

Semantic evolution

In Martial it was someone who moves or shakes something, cūnārum mōtor “the rocker of my cradle”.^[2][6]

In Ecclesiastical and scholastic Latin it was a mover, an impulse, and Köbler lists it in Thomas Aquinas' Summa theologiae.^[7][5] British Medieval Latin used it for a mover, of God, the soul and abstractions.^[8] English motor is recorded in the mid-15th century, of God as the prime mover; the sense “machine” is modern.^[3]

Timeline

• 40–102/103 AD – Martial uses it.^[2][5]
• mid-15th century – English motor is recorded.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. Someone who moves or rocks something.^[2]
2. (Medieval Latin) A mover, and God as prime mover.^[7][8]

Word family

• motorius

Related words

• moveō
• mōtus
• English motor

References

1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Glare, P. G. W., ed. (2012), Oxford Latin Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
5. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
6. ^ Lewis, Charlton T.; Short, Charles (1879), A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ a b Stelten, Leo F. (1995), Dictionary of Ecclesiastical Latin, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson
8. ^ a b Latham, R. E., D. R. Howlett, R. K. Ashdowne, et al. (1975–2013), Dictionary of Medieval Latin from British Sources, London: British Academy / Oxford University Press