| motif | |
| 1. n. A recurring or dominant element; a theme. | |
| See how the artist repeats the scroll motif throughout the work? | |
| 2. n. (music) A short melodic passage that is repeated in several parts of a work. | |
| 3. n. A decorative figure that is repeated in a design or pattern. | |
| 4. n. (dressmaking) A decorative appliqué design or figure, as of lace or velvet, used in trimming. | |
| 5. n. (crystallography) The physical object or objects repeated at each point of a lattice. Usually atoms or molecules. | |
| 6. n. (chess) A basic element of a move in terms of why the piece moves and how it supports the fulfilment of a stipulation. | |
| 7. n. (biochemistry) In a nucleotide or amino-acid sequence, pattern that is widespread and has, or is conjectured to have, a biological significance. | |
