motor

Etymology

From Latin mōtō (“I set in motion”).

noun

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!
   'However, you go and try your luck and see how you like it.' With that he flung himself into his motor and was off. 1929, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, When the World Screamed
   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. 1936, F.J. Thwaites, chapter XXII, in The Redemption, Sydney: H. John Edwards, published 1940, page 214
   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. 1944 November and December, T. F. Cameron, “Motor and Cartage Working”, in Railway Magazine, page 338
3. (figurative) 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".

adj

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).
   A motor yacht for its size has about 30 per cent more accommodations than a steamer of the same size. 1915 June, “Many Yachts to Go in Commission”, in The American Marine Engineer

verb

1. (dated) To make a journey by motor vehicle; to drive.
   On Saturday we motored down to Plymouth.
   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. 1944 November and December, T. F. Cameron, “Motor and Cartage Working”, in Railway Magazine, pages 336–337
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.
4. (slang) To leave.
   I gotta motor.