Wiktionary

motor

See also: Motor and motör

English

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English Wikipedia has articles on:
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An electric motor.

Etymology

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From Middle English motour (“controller, prime mover; God”), from Latin mōtor (“mover; that which moves something”), from mōtō (“I set in motion”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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motor (plural motors)

  1. A machine or device that converts other energy forms into mechanical energy, or imparts motion.
  2. (colloquial) A motor car, or automobile, even a goods vehicle.
    Nice motor!
    • 1907 August, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “His Own People”, in The Younger Set, New York, N.Y.: D. Appleton & Company, →OCLC, page 6:
      It was flood-tide along Fifth Avenue; motor, brougham, and victoria swept by on the glittering current; pretty women glanced out from limousine and tonneau; young men of his own type, silk-hatted, frock-coated, the crooks of their walking sticks tucked up under their left arms, passed on the Park side.
    • 1918, Edith Wharton, chapter I, in The Marne, New York, N.Y.: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC, page 1:
      Every since the age of six Troy Belknap of New York had embarked for Europe every June on the fastest steamer of one of the most expensive lines. With his family he had descended at the dock from a large noiseless motor, had kissed his father good-bye, turned back to shake hands with the chauffeur (a particular friend), and trotted up the gang-plank behind his mother's maid, [...]
    • 1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed‎[1]:
      'However, you go and try your luck and see how you like it.' With that he flung himself into his motor and was off.
    • 1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter XXII, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, published 1940, page 214:
      The screeching of brakes, the monotonous blare of motor horns, the clip-clip of shoes on slippery pavements, the rustling of wet mackintoshes were all part of the great metropolis.
    • 1944 November and December, T. F. Cameron, “Motor and Cartage Working”, in Railway Magazine, page 338:
      Goods motors for which "A" licences are held are free to operate anywhere, to pick up the most remunerative traffic, and the points between which the best back loads are available.
  3. (figuratively) A source of power for something; an inspiration; a driving force.
  4. Any protein capable of converting chemical energy into mechanical work.
  5. (Christianity, archaic, poetic) The controller or prime mover of the universe; God.
  6. (prison slang) The fermenting mass of fruit that is the basis of pruno, or "prison wine".
    Synonym: kicker

Alternative forms

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Synonyms

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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Translations

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Adjective

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motor (not comparable)

  1. (biology) Relating to the ability to move.
    She has excellent motor skills.
  2. Relating to motor cars.
    Motor insurance is expensive for youngsters.
  3. (nautical) Propelled by an internal combustion engine (as opposed to a steam engine or turbine).
    • 1915 June, “Many Yachts to Go in Commission”, in The American Marine Engineer:
      A motor yacht for its size has about 30 per cent more accommodations than a steamer of the same size.

Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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motor (third-person singular simple present motors, present participle motoring, simple past and past participle motored)

  1. (dated) To make a journey by motor vehicle; to drive.
    Synonym: moto
    On Saturday we motored down to Plymouth.
    • 1944 November and December, T. F. Cameron, “Motor and Cartage Working”, in Railway Magazine, pages 336–337:
      The practice used to be for such consignments to be loaded as tranships to the large centre, but this involved rather slow transits, and to a considerable extent these consignments are now motored to the large centre, and in the average case the transit is improved by a day.
  2. (transitive, aviation) To rotate a jet engine or turboprop using the engine's starter, without introducing fuel into the engine.
    During startup, the engine should be motored for 20 to 30 seconds to allow the shafts to straighten out, as they may have become bowed under their own weight while the airplane was sitting on the ground.
  3. (informal, figurative) To progress at a brisk pace.
    Sales were slow at first, but now things are really motoring.
    • 2023 November 15, Ian Prosser talks to Stefanie Foster, “A healthy person is a more productive person”, in RAIL, number 996, page 34:
      More recently, ORR has been developing its knowledge and skills in cyber and digital security. Prosser says this is really "motoring".
  4. (slang) To leave.
    I gotta motor.

Translations

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References

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Anagrams

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Afrikaans

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English motor, compare motor car, from Latin mōtor.[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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motor (plural motors, diminutive motortjie)

  1. car, automobile
    Synonym: kar
  2. engine, motor

Derived terms

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References

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  1. ^ G.J. van Wyk, Etimologiewoordeboek van Afrikaans, 2003, Stellenbosch.

Asturian

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Noun

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motor m (plural motores)

  1. engine, motor (mechanical device)

Catalan

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Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin mōtōrem.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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motor (feminine motora, masculine plural motors, feminine plural motores) or motor (feminine motriu, masculine plural motors, feminine plural motrius)

  1. motor

Noun

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motor m (plural motors)

  1. motor

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Cebuano

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Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /moˈtoɾ/, [moˈt̪oɾ̪]
  • Hyphenation: mo‧tor

Etymology 1

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Borrowed from Spanish motor.

Noun

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motór

  1. motor; engine

Etymology 2

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Noun

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motór

  1. Clipping of motorsiklo.

Quotations

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For quotations using this term, see Citations:motor.

Czech

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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motor m inan

  1. engine, motor

Declension

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Declension of motor (hard masculine inanimate)
singular plural
nominative motor motory
genitive motoru motorů
dative motoru motorům
accusative motor motory
vocative motore motory
locative motoru motorech
instrumental motorem motory

Derived terms

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Further reading

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  • motor in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
  • motor in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Danish

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Danish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia da

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /moːtɔr/, [ˈmoːtˢɒ]

Noun

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motor c (singular definite motoren, plural indefinite motorer)

  1. motor, engine

Inflection

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Declension of motor
common
gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative motor motoren motorer motorerne
genitive motors motorens motorers motorernes

Derived terms

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Dutch

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Etymology

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Borrowed from English motor, from Latin motor. In the sense “motorbike” motor was originally short for motorrijwiel or motorfiets.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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motor m (plural motoren or motors, diminutive motortje n)

  1. engine (mechanical device)
  2. motorbike
    Synonyms: motorfiets, motorrijwiel

Derived terms

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Descendants

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Hungarian

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Etymology

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From English motor or German Motor, from Latin mōtor, mōtō (“I set in motion”).[1]

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈmotor]
  • Audio:(file)
  • Hyphenation: mo‧tor
  • Rhymes: -or

Noun

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motor (plural motorok)

  1. engine, motor (a machine or device that converts other energy forms into mechanical energy, or imparts motion; the part of a car or other vehicle which provides the force for motion)
  2. (figurative) powerhouse (any source of power, energy or strength)
  3. motorbike, motorcycle (an open-seated motor vehicle with handlebars instead of a steering wheel, and having two (or sometimes three) wheels)
    Synonyms: motorbicikli, motorkerékpár

Declension

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Inflection (stem in -o-, back harmony)
singular plural
nominative motor motorok
accusative motort motorokat
dative motornak motoroknak
instrumental motorral motorokkal
causal-final motorért motorokért
translative motorrá motorokká
terminative motorig motorokig
essive-formal motorként motorokként
essive-modal — —
inessive motorban motorokban
superessive motoron motorokon
adessive motornál motoroknál
illative motorba motorokba
sublative motorra motorokra
allative motorhoz motorokhoz
elative motorból motorokból
delative motorról motorokról
ablative motortól motoroktól
non-attributive
possessive - singular 		motoré motoroké
non-attributive
possessive - plural 		motoréi motorokéi
Possessive forms of motor
possessor single possession multiple possessions
1st person sing. motorom motorjaim
2nd person sing. motorod motorjaid
3rd person sing. motorja motorjai
1st person plural motorunk motorjaink
2nd person plural motorotok motorjaitok
3rd person plural motorjuk motorjaik

Derived terms

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Compound words

References

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  1. ^ Tótfalusi, István. Idegenszó-tár: Idegen szavak értelmező és etimológiai szótára (’A Storehouse of Foreign Words: an explanatory and etymological dictionary of foreign words’). Budapest: Tinta Könyvkiadó, 2005. →ISBN

Further reading

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  • motor in Bárczi, Géza and László Országh. A magyar nyelv értelmező szótára (‘The Explanatory Dictionary of the Hungarian Language’, abbr.: ÉrtSz.). Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1959–1962. Fifth ed., 1992: →ISBN

Indonesian

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Indonesian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia id

Etymology

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Borrowed from Dutch motor, from English motor, from Latin motor. In the sense “motorbike” or "motorcycle", motor was originally short for motorrijwiel or motorfiets.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): [ˈmotɔr]
  • Hyphenation: mo‧tor

Noun

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motor (first-person possessive motorku, second-person possessive motormu, third-person possessive motornya)

  1. engine
    Synonyms: enjin, mesin
  2. (informal) motorcycle
    Synonyms: honda, sepeda motor
  3. (figuratively) important person in organization.

Derived terms

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Further reading

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Interlingua

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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motor (plural motores)

  1. motor

Latin

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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mōtor m (genitive mōtōris); third declension

  1. mover; that which moves something

Declension

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Third-declension noun.

Case Singular Plural
Nominative mōtor mōtōrēs
Genitive mōtōris mōtōrum
Dative mōtōrī mōtōribus
Accusative mōtōrem mōtōrēs
Ablative mōtōre mōtōribus
Vocative mōtor mōtōrēs

Verb

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mōtor

  1. first-person singular present passive indicative of mōtō

References

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  • “motor”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • motor in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

Norwegian Bokmål

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Norwegian Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia no

Noun

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motor m (definite singular motoren, indefinite plural motorer, definite plural motorene)

  1. engine, motor

Derived terms

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Norwegian Nynorsk

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Norwegian Nynorsk Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia nn

Pronunciation

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Noun

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motor m (definite singular motoren, indefinite plural motorar, definite plural motorane)

  1. engine, motor

Derived terms

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Polish

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Polish Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia pl

Etymology

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Borrowed from Latin mōtor.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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motor m inan (diminutive motorek)

  1. (colloquial) motorcycle
    Synonyms: (archaic) autocykl, motocykl
  2. engine
    Synonym: silnik

Declension

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Declension of motor
singular plural
nominative motor motory
genitive motoru motorów
dative motorowi motorom
accusative motor motory
instrumental motorem motorami
locative motorze motorach
vocative motorze motory

Derived terms

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adjective
noun

Further reading

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  • motor in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • motor in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French moteur, from Latin mōtōrem.

Pronunciation

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  • Rhymes: -oʁ, -oɾ
  • Hyphenation: mo‧tor

Adjective

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motor (feminine motora, masculine plural motores, feminine plural motoras)

  1. motive

Noun

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motor m (plural motores)

  1. motor
  2. engine

Romanian

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Etymology

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Borrowed from French moteur.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /moˈtor/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -or
  • Hyphenation: mo‧tor

Noun

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motor n (plural motoare)

  1. engine
  2. (colloquial) motorcycle

Declension

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Declension of motor
singular plural
indefinite articulation definite articulation indefinite articulation definite articulation
nominative/accusative (un) motor motorul (niște) motoare motoarele
genitive/dative (unui) motor motorului (unor) motoare motoarelor
vocative motorule motoarelor
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References

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Serbo-Croatian

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Etymology

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From Latin motor.

Noun

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mòtōr m (Cyrillic spelling мо̀то̄р)

  1. engine, motor
  2. (colloquial) motorcycle

Declension

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Declension of motor
singular plural
nominative mòtōr motori
genitive motóra motora
dative motoru motorima
accusative motor motore
vocative motoru / motore motori
locative motoru motorima
instrumental motorom motorima

Derived terms

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Slovene

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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mọ̑tor m inan

  1. engine

Inflection

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 The diacritics used in this section of the entry are non-tonal. If you are a native tonal speaker, please help by adding the tonal marks.
Masculine inan., soft o-stem
nom. sing. mótor
gen. sing. mótorja
singular dual plural
nominative
(imenovȃlnik) 		mótor mótorja mótorji
genitive
(rodȋlnik) 		mótorja mótorjev mótorjev
dative
(dajȃlnik) 		mótorju mótorjema mótorjem
accusative
(tožȋlnik) 		mótor mótorja mótorje
locative
(mẹ̑stnik) 		mótorju mótorjih mótorjih
instrumental
(orọ̑dnik) 		mótorjem mótorjema mótorji

Spanish

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Etymology

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From Latin motor.

Pronunciation

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Adjective

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motor (feminine motora, masculine plural motores, feminine plural motoras)

  1. moving

Derived terms

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Noun

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motor m (plural motores)

  1. motor (mechanical device)
  2. (mechanics) engine
  3. (figuratively) driving force, driver, mover
  4. (figuratively) powerhouse
  5. (computing) backend, back end

Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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Further reading

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Swedish

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Pronunciation

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Noun

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motor c

  1. engine, motor

Declension

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Declension of motor 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative motor motorn motorer motorerna
Genitive motors motorns motorers motorernas

Derived terms

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References

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Anagrams

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Tagalog

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Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

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Borrowed from Spanish motor.

Noun

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motór (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜓᜆᜓᜇ᜔)

  1. motor; engine
    Synonym: makina
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Etymology 2

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Noun

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motór (Baybayin spelling ᜋᜓᜆᜓᜇ᜔)

  1. Clipping of motorsiklo.

Further reading

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  • “motor”, in Pambansang Diksiyonaryo | Diksiyonaryo.ph, Manila, 2018
  • “motor”, in Pinoy Dictionary, 2010–2024

Turkish

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From French moteur m, from Latin mōtor m (“mover”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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motor (definite accusative motoru, plural motorlar)

  1. engine (mechanical device)
  2. (colloquial) a motorcycle

Declension

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Inflection
Nominative motor
Definite accusative motoru
Singular Plural
Nominative motor motorlar
Definite accusative motoru motorları
Dative motora motorlara
Locative motorda motorlarda
Ablative motordan motorlardan
Genitive motorun motorların
Possessive forms
Nominative
Singular Plural
1st singular motorum motorlarım
2nd singular motorun motorların
3rd singular motoru motorları
1st plural motorumuz motorlarımız
2nd plural motorunuz motorlarınız
3rd plural motorları motorları
Definite accusative
Singular Plural
1st singular motorumu motorlarımı
2nd singular motorunu motorlarını
3rd singular motorunu motorlarını
1st plural motorumuzu motorlarımızı
2nd plural motorunuzu motorlarınızı
3rd plural motorlarını motorlarını
Dative
Singular Plural
1st singular motoruma motorlarıma
2nd singular motoruna motorlarına
3rd singular motoruna motorlarına
1st plural motorumuza motorlarımıza
2nd plural motorunuza motorlarınıza
3rd plural motorlarına motorlarına
Locative
Singular Plural
1st singular motorumda motorlarımda
2nd singular motorunda motorlarında
3rd singular motorunda motorlarında
1st plural motorumuzda motorlarımızda
2nd plural motorunuzda motorlarınızda
3rd plural motorlarında motorlarında
Ablative
Singular Plural
1st singular motorumdan motorlarımdan
2nd singular motorundan motorlarından
3rd singular motorundan motorlarından
1st plural motorumuzdan motorlarımızdan
2nd plural motorunuzdan motorlarınızdan
3rd plural motorlarından motorlarından
Genitive
Singular Plural
1st singular motorumun motorlarımın
2nd singular motorunun motorlarının
3rd singular motorunun motorlarının
1st plural motorumuzun motorlarımızın
2nd plural motorunuzun motorlarınızın
3rd plural motorlarının motorlarının

Derived terms

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Venetian

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Etymology

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Compare Italian motore

Noun

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motor m (plural motori) or motor m (plural moturi)

  1. motor, engine

West Makian

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Etymology

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Possibly a shortening of Dutch motorboot (“motorboat”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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motor

  1. motorboat

References

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  • Clemens Voorhoeve (1982) The Makian languages and their neighbours‎[2], Pacific linguistics
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