motion

Etymology

From Middle English mocioun, mocion, from Anglo-Norman motion, Middle French motion, and their etymon Latin motio (“movement, motion”), related to movēre, from Proto-Indo-European *mew- (“to move”).

noun

1. (uncountable) A state of progression from one place to another.
   Several parties of hop-pickers joined the train at the intermediate stations, and the guard performed the acrobatic feat of walking along the footboards of the coaches to examine tickets, while the train was in motion. 1947 May and June, “Notes and News: The Kent & East Sussex Railway Today”, in Railway Magazine, page 182
2. (countable) A change of position with respect to time.
3. (physics) A change from one place to another.
   Secondly, When a body is once in motion it will continue to move forever, unless something stops it. When a ball is struck on the surface of the earth, the friction of the earth and the resistance of the air soon stop its motion. 1839, Denison Olmsted, A Compendium of Astronomy, page 95
4. (countable) A parliamentary action to propose something. A similar procedure in any official or business meeting.
   The motion to amend is now open for discussion.
5. (obsolete) An entertainment or show, especially a puppet show.
   when God gave him reason, he gave him freedom to choose, for reason is but choosing; he had bin else a meer artificiall Adam, such an Adam as he is in the motions. 1644, John Milton, Areopagitica
6. (philosophy) from κίνησις (kinesis); any change. Traditionally of four types: generation and corruption, alteration, augmentation and diminution, and change of place.
   I say, it is no uneven jot, to pass from the more faint and obscure examples of Spermatical life to the more considerable effects of general Motion in Minerals, Metalls, and sundry Meteors, whose easie and rude shapes may have no need of any Principle of Life, or Spermatical form distinct from the Rest or Motion of the particles of the Matter. 1662, Henry More, An Antidote Against Atheism, Book II, A Collection of Several Philosophical Writings of Dr. Henry More, p. 53
7. Movement of the mind, desires, or passions; mental act, or impulse to any action; internal activity.
8. (law) A formal request, oral or written, made to a judge or court of law to obtain an official court ruling or order for a legal action to be taken by, or on behalf of, the movant.
9. (euphemistic) A movement of the bowels; the product of such movement.
   From that time to the present (three weeks) she has taken one pill every night, and had one comfortable motion every morning without the aid of any other aperient, and her health has much improved. 1857, William Braithwaite, The Retrospect of Medicine
10. (music) Change of pitch in successive sounds, whether in the same part or in groups of parts. (Conjunct motion is that by single degrees of the scale. Contrary motion is when parts move in opposite directions. Disjunct motion is motion by skips. Oblique motion is when one part is stationary while another moves. Similar or direct motion is when parts move in the same direction.)
    The independent motions of different parts sounding together constitute counterpoint. 1878, George Grove, A Dictionary of Music and Musicians
11. (obsolete) A puppet, or puppet show.
12. (mechanical engineering) A piece of moving mechanism, such as on a steam locomotive.
    … three 2-4-2 tank engines were secured from the Hunslet Engine Co. of Leeds. As the line began on the Quay in Bideford, the locomotives had their motion encased, as shown in the illustrations on page 414. 1939 June, “Pertinent Paragraphs: The Bideford, Westward Ho! & Appledore Railway”, in Railway Magazine, page 459

verb

1. To gesture indicating a desired movement.
   He motioned for me to come closer.
   After spending a few paragraphs blasting Obamacare, including motioning directly at the Democrats during his sharpest condemnations, the president laid down a few markers for what he wanted to see replace the current system. 1 March 2017, Anthony Zurcher, “Trump addresses Congress: A kinder, gentler president”, in BBC News
2. (proscribed) To introduce a motion in parliamentary procedure.
3. To make a proposal; to offer plans.