Etymograph

English

motrix

Motrix comes from Latin moveō ‘to move’, and goes back to Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁-.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)ewh₁-1‘to move’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)owh₁éyeti1reconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moweō1‘to move’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoveō1‘to move’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmotor2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1997motrix2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin motor
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English motrix
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1997, Thomas Pynchon, Mason & Dixon: “So Dixon for the second time in two minutes…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)ewh₁-Wiktionary, Latin motor‘to move’reconstructed
  2. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*m(y)owh₁éyetiWiktionary, Latin motorreconstructed
  3. Proto-Italicc. 1500–700 BCE*moweōWiktionary, Latin motor‘to move’reconstructed
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmoveōWiktionary, Latin motor‘to move’
  5. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmotorWiktionary, English motrix
  6. Englishearliest quotation 1997motrixWiktionary, English motrix. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1997, Thomas Pynchon, Mason & Dixon: “So Dixon for the second time in two minutes…”

The story

It is used as the feminine form of motor (‘(he) that moves’) in neo-Latin, as in the original of Newton's Laws of Motion: proportionalem esse vi motrici impressae ‘is proportional to the motive force applied’ formed on the agentive suffix: -tor (masculine) / -trix (feminine).

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- ‘to move’

motion, remover, 81 more

through Proto-Indo-European *m(y)owh₁éyeti

movement, mover, 82 more

through Proto-Italic *moweō ‘to move’

move, momentum, automobile, automotive, promoter, immobile, emotionless, 84 more

through Latin moveō ‘to move’

mobile, auto, remove, emotional, promote, promotion, remote, mobility, emotion, motive, motivate, mobilization, removable, mobilize, motif, mobilisation, mobilise, motility, emote, motile, 64 more

through Latin motor

motor, 13 more

Today it means

noun A female instigator or cause of something.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “motrix”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin motor. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- / motrix

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