Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “motivating” come from?

Motivating derives from English motivate, from Middle French motif, from Latin mōtus meaning "moved," with the suffix -ātus.

motivating (English): Effectively providing an incentive; present...

Definitions

  1. Effectively providing an incentive; present...

Ancestry of “motivating”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishmotivateTo provide someone with an incentive to do...
2English-atehaving the specified thing; characterized by the...
3English-cyUsed to form nouns of state, condition or quality...
4Anglo-Norman-cie—
5Latin-tiaoffice, rank
6Latin-iaUsed to form a feminine abstract noun, usually...
7Latin-iusforming adjectives from nouns; nominative neuter...
8Proto-Italic-jōsForms comparative adjectives
9Proto-Indo-European-yósCreates adjectives from noun or verb stems

Words derived from “motivating”

  • unmotivating
  • nonmotivating
Every word from Proto-Indo-European -yós →