From Latin 'loco' (from a place) + 'motivus' (moving) — literally 'moving from place to place.'
Definition
A powered railway vehicle used for pulling trains; (adjective) relating to or having the power of locomotion.
The Full Story
Latin17th century (adjective); 19th century (noun)well-attested
From Medieval Latin locomotivus (causing motion from a place), a compound of Latin locus (place, spot) + Medieval Latin motivus (causing motion), from movēre (to move). Locus derives from an uncertain PIEroot, possibly related to *stel- (to place); it gave English local, locate, dislocate, and allocate. Movēre derives from PIE *mewH- (to push away, to move), also underlyingSanskrit mīvati (pushes
Did you know?
The word 'locomotion' was coined by the philosopher and scientist John Wilkins in 1646, purely as a scientific term for animals' ability to move from place to place. Nobody imagined it would name a machine. When George Stephenson built his pioneering railway engine in 1829, he named it 'The Rocket' — but the generic
. Locomotive entered common use as a noun after the success of the 1825 Stockton and Darlington Railway, the first public steam railway. Key roots: locus (Latin: "place, position"), mōtīvus (Late Latin: "moving, impelling"), movēre (Latin: "to move, set in motion").