MOTIF

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does motif mean? 

• MOTIF (noun)
  The noun MOTIF has 3 senses:

1. a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration

2. a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music

3. a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic work

  Familiarity information: MOTIF used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MOTIF (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

motif; motive

Hypernyms ("motif" is a kind of...):

design; figure; pattern (a decorative or artistic work)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Synonyms:

motif; motive

Hypernyms ("motif" is a kind of...):

idea; melodic theme; musical theme; theme ((music) melodic subject of a musical composition)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "motif"):

obbligato; obligato (a persistent but subordinate motif)

Sense 3

Meaning:

A unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary or artistic work

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Synonyms:

motif; theme

Context example:

it was the usual 'boy gets girl' theme

Hypernyms ("motif" is a kind of...):

idea; thought (the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "motif"):

topos (a traditional theme or motif or literary convention)

 Context examples 

This allele, which encodes nuclear transcription factor Y subunit alpha protein, is involved in binding to the CCAAT motif in gene promoters.

(NFYA wt Allele, NCI Thesaurus)

Phosphorylation of IkB by kinases (IKBKA or IKBKB) marks them for ubiquitination, allowing NF-kB translocation to the nucleus and DNA binding at kappa-B transcription enhancer motifs.

(NF-kB, NCI Thesaurus)

AMSH binds to the SH3 domain of STAM, which also contains an ITAM motif.

(AMSH Protein, NCI Thesaurus)

Chemokines without the ELR sequence motif appear to chemoattract and activate monocytes, dendritic cells, T-cells, NK-cells, B-lymphocytes, basophils, and eosinophils.

(Alpha Chemokine, NCI Thesaurus)

Murine Nova1 specifically binds to the GLRA2 intronic (UCAUY)3 sequence motif.

(Neuro-Oncological Ventral Antigen 1, NCI Thesaurus)

BCL6 protein is may be a transcription factor and contains six zinc finger motifs and shares an N-terminal POZ domain homologous to other transcription factors.

(BCL6 Protein, NCI Thesaurus)

The structural motif of a nanoparticle that is defined by the spatial relationship of the constituent atoms.

(Nanoparticle Topology, NCI Thesaurus)

NRG3 also contains an N-Ala/Gly-rich segment, an EGF motif, and a mucin-like Ser/Thr-rich region with sites for O-linked glycosylation.

(Neuregulin 3, NCI Thesaurus)

BCL7A exhibits no recognizable motifs but shows homology with actin-binding Caldesmon.

(BCL7A Protein, NCI Thesaurus)

NMYC interactor (NMI) is a protein that interacts with NMYC and CMYC (two members of the oncogene Myc family), and other transcription factors containing a Zip, HLH, or HLH-Zip motif.

(NMYC Interactor, NCI Thesaurus/LocusLink)