Motif

How to spell motif

5 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce motif

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does motif mean?

1. nounA recurring element, theme, or decorative design in art, music, literature, or fashion.

Motif in a sentence

• The wallpaper featured a repeating floral motif in soft green.

• The composer wove a single four-note motif through every movement.

Where does motif come from?

Language of origin: French

Motif comes from French motif, meaning 'motive' or 'driving idea', which in turn grew from the Medieval Latin motivus, 'serving to move'. That word traces back to the Latin verb movere, 'to move', the same root that gives English 'motive', 'motion' and 'emotion'. French used motif both for a reason that moves someone to act and, in the arts, for a recurring element that gives a work its character. English borrowed the artistic and musical sense in the middle of the 1800s, keeping the French spelling and its soft final '-if'. That French ending is the spelling trap: the word keeps a single 'f' and ends '-if', unlike its English cousin 'motive', so writers must resist the pull toward '-tive' or a doubled 'ff'.

How the word is built

• mot- (from Latin movere: to move)
• -if (French adjectival suffix)