motif - Definitions from Dictionary.com

9 results for: motif

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

mo·tif

Audio Help [moh-teef] Pronunciation Key

–noun

1.	a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., esp. in a literary, artistic, or musical work.

2.	a distinctive and recurring form, shape, figure, etc., in a design, as in a painting or on wallpaper.

3.	a dominant idea or feature: the profit motif of free enterprise.

[Origin: 1840–50; < F; see motive

]

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
motif

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

mo·tif Audio Help (mō-tēf') Pronunciation Key
n.

1. A recurrent thematic element in an artistic or literary work.
2. A dominant theme or central idea.
Music A short rhythmic or melodic passage that is repeated or evoked in various parts of a composition.
A repeated figure or design in architecture or decoration. See Synonyms at figure.

[French, from Old French, motive; see motive.]

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
motif

1848, from Fr. motif "dominant idea, theme" (see motive).

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

motif
noun
1.	a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration
2.	a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music
3.	a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic work; "it was the usual 'boy gets girl' theme" [syn: theme]

American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
motif [(moh-teef)]

In literature, art, or music, a recurring set of words, shapes, colors, or notes. In the poem “The Raven,” by Edgar Allan Poe, for example, the word nevermore is a motif appearing at the end of each stanza. Likewise, the first four notes of the Fifth Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven are a motif that is developed and reshaped throughout the work.

[Chapter:] Conventions of Written English

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Free On-line Dictionary of Computing - Cite This Source - Share This

Motif
The standard graphical user interface and window manager from OSF, running on the X Window System.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Motif

Mo"tif\, n. [F.] Motive.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Motif

Mo`tif"\, n. [F.]

1. In literature and the fine arts, a salient feature or element of a composition or work; esp., the theme, or central or dominant feature; specif. (Music), a motive.

This motif, of old things lost, is a favorite one for the serious ballade. --R. M. Alden.

The design . . . is . . . based on the peacock -- a motif favored by decorative artists of all ages. --R. D. Benn.

2. (Dressmaking) A decorative appliqu['e] design or figure, as of lace or velvet, used in trimming.

Acronym Finder - Cite This Source - Share This

MOTIF

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