Word Origin Atlas

Exact historical dictionary sense

Motor in Webster's 1913 dictionary

The 1913 record labels motor as noun. Its source-bounded etymology and selected historical definition appear below.

WEBSTER 1913noun
Motor

[L., fr. movere, motum, to move.]

Cross-verified historical sense
The source text may be outdated. The page preserves that historical boundary.
Cross-verified 1913 record
Headwordmotor
Part of speechnoun
Historical etymology[L., fr. movere, motum, to move.]
Selected historical definitionOne who, or that which, imparts motion; a source of mechanical power.
Signed record IDwebster1913-motor-noun-455d4238af0a
Source locatorCIDE.M, paragraph 10162; Gutenberg eBook 665
Edition-scoped answerNot earliest-attestation proofNot modern consensus
Independent historical textProject Gutenberg section 665Signed structural record sourceGNU GCIDE 0.54 archive
Quick answer

In Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), "motor" is labeled noun. Its etymology is recorded as: "[L., fr. movere, motum, to move.]" The selected historical definition says: "One who, or that which, imparts motion; a source of mechanical power."

Project Gutenberg Webster 1913 plus signed GNU GCIDE 0.54 Exact cross-verified historical record reviewed 2026-10-04

What this answer proves

One named sense in one historical dictionary edition.

The answer reports the selected headword, part of speech, etymology, definition, and source locator as transcribed in the cross-verified 1913 record.

Evidence boundaryIt does not establish the earliest attestation or a complete borrowing chain.It does not claim current scholarly consensus or a modern dictionary definition.Historical dictionary text may be obsolete, incomplete, inaccurate, or offensive by modern standards.

More released M records

Every card owns a different source record and historical sense.

noun

Must

[AS. must, fr. L. mustum (sc. vinum), from mustus young, new, fresh. Cf. Mustard.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Money

[OE. moneie, OF. moneie, F. monnaie, fr. L. moneta. See Mint place where coin is made, Mind, and cf. Moidore, Monetary.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Million

[F., from LL. millio, fr. L. mille a thousand. See Mile.]

Webster 1913 exact recordadjective

Major

[L. major, compar. of magnus great: cf. F. majeur. Cf. Master, Mayor, Magnitude, More, a.]

Webster 1913 exact recordnoun

Moment

[F. moment, L. momentum, for movimentum movement, motion, moment, fr. movere to move. See Move, and cf. Momentum, Movement.]

Webster 1913 exact record

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