Etymology

motivator

mo·ti·va·tor
M3O1T1I1V4A1T1O1R1

Today it means: One who inspires or motivates someone; one who drives someone to act. Full definition →

English motivate ← Middle English motif ← Late Latin mōtīvum
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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. Englishmotivate
  12. English todaymotivator

From motivate + -or.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.