A person or thing that provides reason or drive for someone to do something; something that inspires action.
From Latin 'movere' meaning 'to move,' combined with the suffix '-or' for something that does an action. The modern sense of psychological motivation developed in the 20th century.
The word comes from 'move'—when something motivates you, it literally moves you into action! That's why we talk about 'getting things moving' and why a motivator is someone who can actually get you off the couch.
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