motivo

See also: motivó and motivò

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Italian motivo. Doublet of motif and motive.

Noun

motivo (plural motivos or motivi)

1. (music) A motif.
   • 1853, Adolf Bernhard Marx, The universal school of music, translated by A. H. Wehrhan, page 165:

     By the repetition, transposition, inversion, and combination of different motivos, the extended series of sounds is formed […]

Anagrams

• vomito

Aragonese

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moˈtibo/
• Syllabification: mo‧ti‧vo
• Rhymes: -ibo

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Late Latin motīvus.

Noun

motivo m

1. reason, ground, motive

   no sé en qual ye motivo ― I don't know what is the reason for that

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

motivo

1. Verb conjugation of motivar

Further reading

• Diccionario ortografico de l'aragonés (Seguntes la PO de l'EFA)

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [muˈti.βu]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic) [muˈti.vo]
• IPA^(key): (Valencia) [moˈti.vo]

Verb

motivo

1. first-person singular present indicative of motivar

Esperanto

Etymology

Common Romance, from Latin motivus.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

• IPA^(key): /moˈtivo/
• Rhymes: -ivo
• Hyphenation: mo‧ti‧vo

Noun

motivo (accusative singular motivon, plural motivoj, accusative plural motivojn)

1. reason, ground, motive

Related terms

• motivi

Ido

Etymology

Borrowed from English motive, French motif, German Motiv, Italian motivo, Russian моти́в (motív), Spanish motivo, all ultimately from Latin mōtivum, accusative singular of mōtivus.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moˈtivo/

Noun

motivo (plural motivi)

1. motive (that which excites to action, determines choice)
2. (music) motif

Derived terms

• motivizar (“to state the motive or grounds of (an opinion, act); (fig.) to justify”)
• plendomotivo (“reason for complaint, grievance”)
• senmotiva (“gratuitous (without proof or motive)”)
  • senmotiva supozajo (“gratuitous supposition”)

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moˈti.vo/
• Rhymes: -ivo
• Hyphenation: mo‧tì‧vo

Etymology 1

From Late Latin mōtīvus.

Noun

motivo m (plural motivi)

1. reason, ground

   Synonym: ragione

2. motive

   Synonym: motivazione

3. (music) motif, melody, aria

   Synonym: melodia

4. pattern, motif
5. room

   Synonym: spazio

6. scope

   Synonyms: scopo, spazio

Related terms

• motivare
• motivato
• motivazione
• motivetto
• motivico

Descendants

• → Greek: μοτίβο (motívo)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

motivo

1. first-person singular present indicative of motivare

Further reading

• motivo in Collins Italian-English Dictionary
• motivo in Aldo Gabrielli, Grandi Dizionario Italiano (Hoepli)
• motivo in garzantilinguistica.it – Garzanti Linguistica, De Agostini Scuola Spa
• motivo in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication
• motivo in sapere.it – De Agostini Editore

Anagrams

• vomito, vomitò

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [moːˈtiː.woː]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [moˈt̪iː.vo]

Adjective

mōtīvō

1. dative/ablative masculine/neuter singular of mōtīvus

Portuguese

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /moˈt͡ʃi.vu/

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /moˈt͡ʃi.vu/
  • (Southern Brazil) IPA^(key): /moˈt͡ʃi.vo/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /muˈti.vu/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /muˈti.vu/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /muˈti.bu/ [muˈti.βu]

• Audio (Portugal (Porto)):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: mo‧ti‧vo

Etymology 1

Learned borrowing from Medieval Latin mōtīvus.

Noun

motivo m (plural motivos)

1. motive (that which incites to action)

   Synonyms: causa, finalidade, intuito, razão

2. (music) motif (short melodic passage that is repeated in several parts of a work)

   Synonym: leitmotiv

Related terms

• motivação
• motivacional
• motivadamente
• motivado
• motivador
• motivante
• motivar

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

motivo

1. first-person singular present indicative of motivar

Further reading

• “motivo”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2025
• “motivo”, in Dicionário inFormal (in Portuguese), 2006–2025
• “motivo” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “motivo”, in Dicionário infopédia da Lingua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Porto: Porto Editora, 2003–2025
• “motivo”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “motivo”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /moˈtibo/ [moˈt̪i.β̞o]
• Rhymes: -ibo
• Syllabification: mo‧ti‧vo

Etymology 1

Borrowed from Late Latin motīvus.

Noun

motivo m (plural motivos)

1. reason, ground, motive

   no sé por qué motivo ― I don't know for what reason

   • 2013 July 9, Alan Gainza Miranda, “Científicos de UCR encuentran arrecife de Samara y Carrillo en mal estado”, in La Voz de Guanacaste‎^[1]:

     Los motivos fundamentales por los que se ha degradado el arrecife en estos momentos son las mareas rojas y las extracciones de coral por parte de los humanos.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • 2023 March 1, Alex Leeds Matthews, Han Vu, “¿Quiénes serán los más afectados por la pérdida de los cupones de comida en EE.UU.?”, in CNN en Español‎^[2]:

     El motivo es el fin de una política de emergencia por el covid-19 que había aumentado los beneficios del SNAP al nivel máximo para cada destinatario. En 18 estados, esos beneficios adicionales ya habían expirado.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Verb

motivo

1. first-person singular present indicative of motivar

Further reading

• “motivo”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024