# motion

Pronunciation: say "MOH-shuhn" US /ˈmoʊ.ʃən/, UK /ˈməʊ.ʃən/

## Noun

1. The action or state of moving or changing position.
   - Simple: Movement, or the state of moving from one place or position to another.
   - _The car was in motion before everyone had buckled their seatbelts._
   - _The constant motion of the ferry left several passengers feeling seasick._
2. A formal request, spoken or written, made to a judge or court to obtain a ruling or order.
   - Simple: A formal request asking a judge to make a decision or give an order in a case.
   - _Defense counsel filed a motion to suppress the seized evidence._
   - _The court denied the motion for a new trial._
3. A formal proposal put before a meeting or assembly for discussion and a vote.
   - Simple: A formal idea or plan put to a group for them to vote on.
   - _The committee passed a motion to fund the new library wing._
   - _Several motions were tabled before the council adjourned._
4. A movement; a single change in the position of something over time.
   - Simple: A single movement, like one move of your hand or body.
   - _With a single fluid motion, the chef flipped the omelet._
   - _The choreographer broke the routine into a series of small motions._
6. The change of pitch from one note to the next, within a part or between parts.
   - Simple: The way the pitch of notes moves up or down, one after another.
   - _The composer favored stepwise motion in the soprano line._
   - _Contrary motion between the bass and melody gave the passage its tension._
7. An emptying of the bowels; the waste produced by it. *(euphemistic)*
   - Simple: An act of passing solid waste from the body, or the waste itself.
   - _The doctor noted that the patient had a normal motion each morning._
   - _Frequent loose motions left her dehydrated._
8. An inner stirring of the mind, desires, or passions; an impulse prompting one to act.
   - Simple: A feeling or urge that stirs inside a person, sometimes pushing them to act.
   - _The poem traces every motion of grief and longing in the speaker's heart._
   - _She distrusted the sudden motions of anger that rose in her._

## Verb

5. To signal with a gesture that you want someone to move in a certain way.
   - Simple: To signal with your hand or head that someone should move or come.
   - _Crossing guards motion to pedestrians once the road is clear._
   - _The director motioned the actors offstage with a sweep of her arm._
9. To propose something, especially formally in a meeting.
   - Simple: To suggest a plan or idea, especially in a formal meeting where people will vote.
   - _When the discussion stalled, the treasurer motioned to table the proposal until the next meeting._
   - _If nobody else will, I'll motion to end the debate and call the vote._

## Noun

10. A show given for people's amusement, especially a puppet performance. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A show put on to entertain people, especially a puppet show.
11. A puppet, especially one used in a traveling show. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A puppet, a small figure moved to put on a show.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A set of moving parts in a machine, such as the rods and gears that drive a steam locomotive.
- (noun) In Aristotelian philosophy, any kind of change: including coming-to-be and decay, alteration, growth or shrinkage, and movement from place to place.

## Origin

Latin "mōtiō" ("movement, motion"), related to "movēre" ("to move"), goes back to Proto-Indo-European *m(y)ewh₁- ("to move"). It passed into Anglo-Norman and Middle French as "motion" and was borrowed into Middle English as "mocioun."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/motion (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).