im·pe·tus

[im-pi-tuhs]
noun, plural im·pe·tus·es.
1.
a moving force; impulse; stimulus: The grant for building the opera house gave impetus to the city's cultural life.
2.
(broadly) the momentum of a moving body, especially with reference to the cause of motion.

Origin:
1650–60; < Latin: an attack, literally, a rushing into, perhaps by haplology from *impetitus (though the expected form would be *impetītus; see appetite), equivalent to impetī-, variant stem of impetere to attack (im- im-1 + petere to make for, assault) + -tus suffix of v. action

impetus, impotence, sterility.


1. stimulation, spur, boost.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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World English Dictionary
impetus (ˈɪmpɪtəs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
n , pl -tuses
1.  an impelling movement or force; incentive or impulse; stimulus
2.  physics the force that sets a body in motion or that tends to resist changes in a body's motion
 
[C17: from Latin: attack, from impetere to assail, from im- (in) + petere to make for, seek out]

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

impetus
1641, from L. impetus "attack, assault, onset, impulse, violence, vigor, force, passion," related to impetere "to attack," from in- "into" + petere "aim for, rush at" (see petition).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Example sentences
When news of this seeped out, the reaction gave impetus to a surge of
  opposition that swept the government from power.
But its real impetus seems to be fears on the right about the country's
  minority populations.
His conducting was spacious too, though perhaps lacking something in tension
  and impetus.
In the forties and fifties a lot of the impetus behind the organizing on behalf
  of social equality was catalyzed by unions.
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