The Collaborative International Dictionary
Motive \Mo"tive\, n. [F. motif, LL. motivum, from motivus moving, fr. L. movere, motum, to move. See Move.]
That which moves; a mover. [Obs.]
--Shak.-
That which incites to action; anything prompting or exciting to choise, or moving the will; cause; reason; inducement; object; motivation[2].
By motive, I mean the whole of that which moves, excites, or invites the mind to volition, whether that be one thing singly, or many things conjunctively.
--J. Edwards. (Mus.) The theme or subject; a leading phrase or passage which is reproduced and varied through the course of a comor a movement; a short figure, or melodic germ, out of which a whole movement is develpoed. See also Leading motive, under Leading. [Written also motivo.]
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(Fine Arts) That which produces conception, invention, or creation in the mind of the artist in undertaking his subject; the guiding or controlling idea manifested in a work of art, or any part of one.
Syn: Incentive; incitement; inducement; reason; spur; stimulus; cause.
Usage: Motive, Inducement, Reason. Motive is the word originally used in speaking of that which determines the choice. We call it an inducement when it is attractive in its nature. We call it a reason when it is more immediately addressed to the intellect in the form of argument.
Wiktionary
n. (context music English) A motif.
Usage examples of "motivo".
Un altro motivo, diciamolo pure, trattenne il capitano Thompson da certe indulgenze che la professione sua qualche volta permette: ed era, il desiderio di piacere alla Aurelia.
Indios que se restituyan, sin dejar alguno, para evitar todo motivo de communicacion que puede ser muy prejudicial.