Etymology

motivational

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Today it means: Tending or intended to motivate. Full definition →

Proto-Indo-European *h₂élisder.? ← English motivation ← Middle English motif
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The story

  1. Anglo-Normanmotif
  2. Middle Frenchmotif
  3. Proto-Indo-European*m(y)ewh₁-
  4. Proto-Indo-European*m(y)owh₁éyeti
  5. Proto-Italic*moweō
  6. Latinmoveō
  7. Latinmōtus
  8. Late Latinmōtīvum
  9. Middle Englishmotif
  10. Englishmotive
  11. Englishmotivation
  12. Proto-Indo-European*h₂el-
  13. Proto-Indo-European*h₂élisder.?
  14. English todaymotivational

From motivation + -al.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.