English → Latin
“motive” in Latin
causacause, reason; case, claim, contention; cause, judicial process, lawsuitratiōreason, reasoning, explanation, ground, motive, rationality, rationale, purpose; calculation, account, accounting, reckoimpellōto push, drive or strike against something; assail; to drive or push forward, set in motion, urge on, impel; to impel, istimulusa goad, prick; a sting; stimulus, incentive
The English word motive itself goes back to Latin moveō, through motivum.
Riddle & Arnold A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon, 1864
motive adj.
qui movet, etc.
motive s.
causa, ratio (Cic.); consilii motus (Plin., Ep.): an external motive, impulsus externus, or simply impulsus, stimulus (Cic.); si requirit, quae causa nos impulerit, ut haec tam sero litteris mandaremus (if any one ask what motive induced, Cic., N.D., 1, 4, 7): quasi moventia proponere (as motives, Cic., Tusc., 5, 24, 68).
Quick answer
- What is the Latin word for motive?
- The usual Latin words for “motive” are causa, ratiō, impellō; also stimulus. The right choice depends on the sense; see the distinctions below.
Entry from J. E. Riddle & T. K. Arnold, A Copious and Critical English–Latin Lexicon (rev. C. Anthon, New York: Harper, 1864), digitised by Fergus J. P. Walsh, CC BY-SA 4.0; Latin markup adapted by latindictionary.co.