Motorise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To fit or equip a vehicle or machine with a motor or engine to make it self-propelled
2. To supply or adapt something with an electric or combustion motor to enable mechanical power
3. To install a motor in something so that it can operate under its own powered propulsion

Etymology: "Motorise" is the British spelling of "motorize," and it is built from "motor" plus the verb-forming suffix "-ise" (or "-ize"). "Motor" itself comes from Latin "motor," meaning "mover" or "one who moves," from the verb "movere," "to move." The Latin root gave English a whole family of words from the same idea of movement, including "motion," "emotion," and "motive." The word "motor" first appeared in English in the 1400s with the sense of a person or thing that imparts motion, and it only took on its modern machine meaning in the late 1800s, when engines powered by steam, petrol, and then electricity were developed. "Motorise" followed that shift, and the earliest uses of the verb in English date to the early 1900s, when vehicles and then military units were being fitted with engines.

Synonyms: motorize, mechanize, automate

Antonyms: deactivate