motion

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. The act or process of changing position or place.
2. n. A meaningful or expressive change in the position of the body or a part of the body; a gesture.
3. n. Active operation: set the plan in motion.
4. n. The ability or power to move: lost motion in his arm.
5. n. The manner in which the body moves, as in walking.
6. n. A prompting from within; an impulse or inclination: resigned of her own motion.
7. n. Music Melodic ascent and descent of pitch.
8. n. Law An application made to a court for an order or a ruling.
9. n. A formal proposal put to the vote under parliamentary procedures.
10. n. A mechanical device or piece of machinery that moves or causes motion; a mechanism.
11. n. The movement or action of such a device.
12. v. To direct by making a gesture: motioned us to our seats.
13. v. To signal by making a gesture: motioned to her to enter.
14. idiom. go through the motions To do something in a mechanical manner indicative of a lack of interest or involvement.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. Change of place; transition from one point or position in space to another; continuous variation of position: used both concretely, for a single change of position, and abstractly, to denote such change considered as a character belonging to the moving body, and also generally for a class of phenomena.
2. n. The power of moving; ability to change one's position.
3. n. Style or manner of moving; carriage.
4. n. In astronomy, angular velocity; amount of angular movement, especially the rate of movement of a heavenly body in longitude: as, the mean daily motion of the sun is 3548″.
5. n. In mech., any mechanism for modifying the movement in a machine, or for making certain parts change their positions in certain ways; also, the action of such mechanism: as, the slide-valve motion of an engine; heart-motion in spinning-machines, etc.
6. n. A puppet, or a similar figure mechanically moved; also, a puppet-show.
7. n. In philosophy, any change: a translation of κίνησις. There are four kinds of motion, according to Aristotelians —generation and corruption, alteration, augmentation and diminution, and change of place. Bacon distinguishes nineteen kinds of simple motions, which seem to be something like elementary forces.
8. n. A natural impulse, as of the senses, but especially of the mind or soul; tendency of desires or passions; mental agitation.
9. n. Animal life; the faculty of automatic movement and sensation or feeling; the exercise of such faculty; something which usually belongs equally to soul and body, though occasionally confined to one or the other.
10. n. Inclination; disposition; impulse; will: as, of one's own motion.
11. n. Proposal; instigation; incitement.
12. n. A proposal or proposition formally made; specifically, a proposal formally submitted in a deliberative assembly, with a view to its discussion and adoption; also, the act of submitting such a proposal: as, the motion to appoint a committee was carried.
13. n. In law:
14. n. An application to a court or judge, usually in the course of a legal proceeding. Whatever is asked of a court by a suitor is asked by a motion.
15. n. More narrowly, an application which is incidental to the progress of a cause, as distinguished from the trial or investigation of the issue: as, a motion for an injunction; a motion to open a default. Still further distinctions are made in common parlance. Thus, applications on the trial incidental to its progress, such as to strike out testimony or to grant a non-suit, are called motions, though, being on the trial, and the result being included in the judgment, they are not motions within the rules regulating the formalities required for making motions, the record of the decision, the award of costs, or the mode of review.
16. n. In some of the United States, the paper drawn up by the attorney of the moving party, saying, “now comes the plaintiff (or defendant),” etc., “and moves,” etc. (much in the same way that an application to the court would be entered in the minutes), and filed with the clerk in advance of applying to the court, and usually also served on the other party.
17. n. In music:
18. n. The melodic change of a voice or voice-part from one pitch to another; melodic progression. It is concrete, conjunct, or conjoint when it consists of a single step, discrete or disjunct when of a skip.
19. n. The melodic progression of any two voice-parts in harmonic writing in relation to each other. It is similar when both voice-parts rise or fall at the same time, parallel when they together rise or fall by the same interval, contrary or opposite when one rises and the other falls, oblique when one rises or falls while the other remains stationary, and mixed when all varieties occur at once in several parts. In general, between important or conspicuous parts, contrary motion is sought. Parallel motion in perfect fifths or octaves is regularly forbidden; and similar motion to a perfect fifth or octave is employed sparingly.
20. n. In the fine arts, the change of place or position which, from the attitude represented, a figure is portrayed as making. It can only be implied from the attitude which prepares the subject for the given change, and therefore differs from action.
21. n. In medicine, evacuation of the intestine; alvine discharge.
22. n. In military tactics, one of the stages into which each movement prescribed in the manual of arms is divided to facilitate instruction.
23. n. In music. See direct.
24. n. In music. See def. 14 .
25. n. The mode of motion of such a machine.
26. n. By a popular abuse of the term, a movement or machine which could go on indefinitely by its own self-generated power. Thus, if a man should pretend to have a wheel which turned upon its bearings without resistance, so that it would go on moving indefinitely, or to have a fluid which, though viscous, was frictionless, so that its motion, though continually decreasing, never came to rest, neither claim would be a claim to a perpetual motion, nor (however unfounded) would it violate any fundamental principle of mechanics. On the other hand, a machine (such as has actually been proposed) which would not go on moving of itself forever, but would require a little external force to overcome friction, but which with that little force should be capable of doing an indefinite amount of work, would, properly speaking, be a perpetual motion.
27. n. Synonyms Motion, Movement, Move. Motion may be considered separate from that which moves; movement is always connected with the person or thing moving: hence we speak of the laws of motion; of heat as a mode of motion; and of perpetual motion — not of movement in any of these cases; hence, also, motion is the more scientific and technical term. Motion is more general and more voluntary; movement, more particular and occasional: hence we speak of a motion with the hand; a movement of troops; involuntary movements; the movements of the heavenly bodies: the rate of motion or of movement. The figurative uses of the two correspond to the literal. The chief uses of move are founded upon the idea of moving a piece, in chess or a similar game, for winning the game.
28. To guide by a significant motion or gesture, as with the hand or head: as, to motion a person to a seat.
29. To propose; move.
30. To make a significant movement or gesture, as with the hand or head: as, to motion to one to take a seat.
31. To make a proposal; offer plans.
32. n. In geometry, a reversible unique transformation of the aggregate of all points into itself.
33. n. A forward and backward motion, used in connection with something that has a distinct, front and rear.
34. n. A motion parallel to the keel of a vessel.

Wiktionary

1. n. uncountable A state of progression from one place to another;
2. n. countable A change of position with respect to time.
3. n. physics A change from one place to another.
4. n. countable A parliamentary action to propose something.
5. n. obsolete An entertainment or show, especially a puppet show.
6. n. philosophy from κίνησις; any change. Traditionally of four types: generation and corruption, alteration, augmentation and diminution, and change of place.
7. v. To gesture indicating a desired movement.
8. v. proscribed To introduce a motion in parliamentary procedure.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. The act, process, or state of changing place or position; movement; the passing of a body from one place or position to another, whether voluntary or involuntary; -- opposed to rest.
2. n. Power of, or capacity for, motion.
3. n. Direction of movement; course; tendency.
4. n. Change in the relative position of the parts of anything; action of a machine with respect to the relative movement of its parts.
5. n. Movement of the mind, desires, or passions; mental act, or impulse to any action; internal activity.
6. n. A proposal or suggestion looking to action or progress; esp., a formal proposal made in a deliberative assembly.
7. n. (Law) An application made to a court or judge orally in open court. Its object is to obtain an order or rule directing some act to be done in favor of the applicant.
8. n. (Mus.) Change of pitch in successive sounds, whether in the same part or in groups of parts.
9. n. obsolete A puppet show or puppet.
10. v. To make a significant movement or gesture, as with the hand.
11. v. obsolete To make proposal; to offer plans.
12. v. To direct or invite by a motion, as of the hand or head.
13. v. obsolete To propose; to move.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. a natural event that involves a change in the position or location of something
2. n. an optical illusion of motion produced by viewing a rapid succession of still pictures of a moving object
3. n. the act of changing location from one place to another
4. n. a state of change
5. n. the use of movements (especially of the hands) to communicate familiar or prearranged signals
6. n. a formal proposal for action made to a deliberative assembly for discussion and vote
7. v. show, express or direct through movement
8. n. a change of position that does not entail a change of location