"capacity of automatic or spontaneous movement," 1827, from French motilité (1827), from Latin mot-, stem of movere "to move" (from PIE root *meue- "to push away").
Entries linking to motility
*meue-
*meuə-, Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to push away."
It forms all or part of: commotion; emotion; mob; mobile; moment; momentary; momentous; momentum; motif; motility; motion; motive; moto-; motor; move; movement; mutiny; premotion; promote; remote; remove.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Sanskrit kama-muta "moved by love" and probably mivati "pushes, moves;" Greek ameusasthai "to surpass," amyno "push away;" Latin movere "move, set in motion;" Lithuanian mauti "push on."
motile adj.
"capable of spontaneous movement," 1831, back-formation from motility.