"M" Word Origins

motel

Origin · 1925

A blend of "motor" and "hotel", coined for the Motel Inn built in San Luis Obispo, California in 1925.

moth

Old English

From Old English moþþe, "destructive insect larva", from a Proto-Germanic root meaning "worm".

mother

Old English

From Old English modor, from a very old Proto-Indo-European root that also gave us "matter", "matrix" and "Madeira".

motherboard

Origin · 1960

A compound of "mother" and "board", in use since the mid-1960s, on the idea that other circuit boards plug into it.

motherfuck

Origin

A back-formation from "motherfucker".

motherfucker

Origin · 1918

A compound of "mother" and "fucker", recorded since around 1918; the force of the insult comes from its literal implication of incest, though it's rarely meant that way today.

motherfucking

Origin

A back-formation from "motherfucker", used as an adjective/adverb intensifier.

motherhood

Middle English

From Middle English moderhode, built from "mother" plus the suffix "-hood", which denotes a state or condition.

motherland

Origin

From mother + land, echoing the ancient pattern of personifying a homeland as a parent (compare fatherland).

motherless

Middle English

From Middle English moderles, from Old English mōdorlēas, from Proto-Germanic *mōdērlausaz, equivalent to mother + -less. Cognate with Saterland Frisian muurloos (“motherless”), Dutch moederloos (“motherless”), German mutterlos (“motherless”), Danish moderløs (“motherless”), Swedish moderlös (“motherless”), Icelandic móðurlaus (“motherless”).

motherling

Origin

From mother + -ling.

motherly

Old English

From Old English mōdorlīċ, built from mother plus the suffix -ly ("in the manner of").

mothership

Middle English

From Middle English modership, built from "mother" plus the suffix "-ship," which turns a noun into a state or condition (compare "friendship").

motif

French

Borrowed from French motif ("main idea or theme"), which comes from the same root as motive.

motility

Latin

From Latin motus, past participle of movere 'to move', via motile.

motion

Latin

From Latin mōtiō ("movement"), from movēre ("to move") — the same root behind move, motor, and motive.

motionless

Origin

From motion + -less ("without").

motivate

Latin

From motive + the verb-forming suffix -ate, ultimately from Latin movēre ("to move").

motivation

French

From motivate + -ion, following the pattern of French motivation and German Motivation.

motive

Late Latin

From Anglo-Norman motif, from Late Latin motivum ("a moving cause").

motley

Old English

From Middle English motle, related to Old English mot ("speck") — the same root that gives us mottle.

moto

Origin

Clipped from "motocross" or "motorcycle."

motocross

French

Borrowed from French motocross, a blend of moto ("motorcycle") and English cross-country.

motor

Latin

From Latin mōtor ("mover"), from movēre ("to move").

motorbike

Origin

From motor + bike.

motorboat

Origin

From motor + boat.

motorbus

Origin

From motor + bus.

motorcade

Origin

A blend of motor and cavalcade.

motorcar

Origin

From motor + car.

motorcoach

Origin

From motor + coach.

motorcycle

Origin · 1897

From motor + cycle, tracing back to the Motorcyclette built in France in 1897.

motorist

Origin

From motor + -ist.

motormouth

Origin

From motor + mouth, from the figurative notion that the mouth moves so much that it seems motorized.

motorway

Origin

From motor + way.

Motown

Origin

A blend of motor and town, referencing Detroit's nickname as the Motor City, home of the auto industry and Motown Records.

mott

French

Probably from French motte.

Motta

Italian

Borrowed from Italian Motta.

motte

Origin

From French motte, from Anglo-Norman/Old French motte (“mound, hillock”). Doublet of moat.

mottle

Origin

1670-80. Probably back-formation from motley.

mottled

Origin

1670-80 mottle + -ed.

motto

Latin

Borrowed from Italian motto ("a word, a saying"), from Latin muttum ("a mutter").

mou

Cantonese

From Cantonese 冇 (mou5), reinforced by influence from the Malay word mau ("to want").

moue

Origin

Borrowed from French moue, from Old French moe (“grimace”), from Frankish *mauwa (“pout, protruding lip”). Doublet of mow ("grimace").

mould

Latin

From Old French modle, from Latin modulus, arriving in English via Middle English molde.

mouldy

Origin

From mould + -y.

moulin

Late Latin

Borrowed from French moulin ("mill"), from Late Latin molinum.

moult

Origin

From Middle English mouten, from Old English *mutian (attested in bemutian, “to exchange for”), from Latin mūtō (“to (re)move, change, vary, mutate, exchange, abandon”). Doublet of mute and mutate. The unetymological ⟨l⟩ was introduced into the spelling by mistakenly assuming a French origin with -l- as in fault and vault; compare solder, which in contrast has an etymological ⟨l⟩ (from Latin solidāre, “to make solid“) but was historically pronounced without that grapheme's sound.

mound

Old English

From Old English mund ("protection, boundary"), from Proto-Germanic *mundō ("hand"); not related to "mount" despite the similar spelling.