Motion

How to spell motion

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce motion

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does motion mean?

1. nounThe action or process of moving, or a change of position.
2. nounA formal proposal put forward for discussion and a vote at a meeting.
3. verbTo direct or signal someone using a gesture.

Motion in a sentence

• noun

  The gentle motion of the train made her sleepy.

• noun

  The committee passed the motion to increase annual membership fees.

• verb

  The officer began to motion the waiting drivers forward.

• noun

  A sensor detects any motion in the hallway after midnight.

• noun

  She seconded the motion before the chair called for a vote.

• verb

  The host will motion each guest toward an assigned seat.

Where does motion come from?

Language of origin: Latin

Motion comes from the Latin motio, meaning 'a moving' or 'movement', which was formed from the verb movere, 'to move'. Latin speakers built the noun on the past participle stem mot-, so the spelling preserves that single t followed by -ion rather than the v of the verb. English took the word in the late 1300s by way of Old French motion, at first to describe physical movement and the workings of the body. From there the sense branched: by the 1500s it named a formal proposal put to a meeting, something 'moved' for debate, and it also became a verb for signalling with a gesture. The very same movere root sits inside a large family of relatives, including 'move', 'remove', 'promote', 'motor' and 'emotion', all of which share that idea of moving.

How the word is built

• mot (from movere: to move)
• -ion (noun suffix denoting action or state)