Movement

How to spell movement

8 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce movement

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does movement mean?

1. nounAn act or process of changing position or location.
2. nounAn organised group of people working together to advance a shared cause.
3. nounA self-contained section of a larger musical work such as a symphony.

Movement in a sentence

• The security camera detects any movement in the hallway.

• The environmental movement gained thousands of new members this year.

• The slow second movement of the symphony moved the audience to tears.

• A sudden movement of the boat made her grab the rail.

• She became a leading voice in the civil rights movement.

• The orchestra paused briefly between each movement of the concerto.

Where does movement come from?

Language of origin: French

This word grew out of the verb 'move', which English took from the Old French movoir, itself descended from the Latin movere, meaning 'to set in motion' or 'to stir'. To that base English added the noun-forming suffix -ment, a French and ultimately Latin ending (-mentum) that turns a verb into a word for the action or its result. The combined form entered English in the 1300s, first describing simple physical motion before broadening to cover organised social campaigns, a person's bowel action, and the distinct sections of a piece of music. The same movere root surfaces in a whole family of relatives such as 'motion', 'remove', 'motor', and 'emotion'. The spelling stays faithful to its parts: keep the silent 'e' of move intact and the trap disappears, since it is simply move plus ment.

How the word is built

• move (from Latin movere: to move)
• -ment (noun suffix denoting an action or result)