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Which composer wrote the famous "da da da DUM" motif in his Symphony No. 5?

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motif

American  

[moh-teef] / moʊˈtif /

noun

• motifs
  plural

1. a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., especially in a literary, artistic, or musical work.

2. a distinctive and recurring form, shape, figure, etc., in a design, as in a painting or on wallpaper.

3. a dominant idea or feature.

   Pulmonary problems were a grim motif in his life.

4. Biochemistry. a distinct pattern of amino acids in a function-specific protein sequence.

   No polyproline motif has been observed in these yeast proteins.

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motif British  

/ məʊˈtiːf /

noun

1. a distinctive idea, esp a theme elaborated on in a piece of music, literature, etc

2. Also: motive.  a recurring form or shape in a design or pattern

3. a single added piece of decoration, such as a symbol or name on a jumper, sweatshirt, etc

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motif Cultural  

1. In literature, art, or music, a recurring set of words, shapes, colors, or notes. In the poem “The Raven,” by Edgar Allan Poe, for example, the word nevermore is a motif appearing at the end of each stanza. Likewise, the first four notes of the Fifth Symphony of Ludwig van Beethoven are a motif that is developed and reshaped throughout the work.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• motifs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of motif

First recorded in 1840–50; from French; see origin at motive

Explanation

The race car decor in your room, the refrain of a song, the idea or object that keeps popping up in a story — these are all motifs, reoccurring elements that move throughout and shape music, art and novels. This French import is related to the Latin verb movere which means "to move." Think about a pattern or design that moves throughout something when you hear motif. Have you ever been to a restaurant with a tropical or Wild West motif? Do you like dresses with a floral motif? In novels, a motif can be a recurring idea like revenge or an object that symbolizes an idea. A character might notice shadows throughout a story which symbolize his dark past.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

motif motifs

Pumpkins are her most famous motif, featuring heavily in her paintings and giant sculptures.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

A.I. has been a key motif of Leo’s nascent papacy, from early speeches to advisory groups to the reception of tech execs who’ve approached the holy man on their own.

From Slate ● May 28, 2026

“Girl” is the only example in this series to feature his best-known motif: a little girl reaching wistfully for a drifting balloon, Gouzer said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

The Leopards' 2025-26 home kit features a dramatic print motif.

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026

A motif is a short musical idea — shorter than a phrase — that occurs often in a piece of music.

From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones

"She formulated a philosophy of art she dubbed 'self-obliteration' based on simple motifs of obsessive repetition and proliferation," according to her website.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

More elaborate designs, including hatched bands, grids, and diamond-shaped motifs, also showed evidence of rotation, translation, repetition, and "embedding," i.e., the ability to build hierarchical levels of signs within the same surface.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026

So birds adapted for tropical forests use different acoustic building blocks, or motifs, to those from temperate regions.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

British architect Edwin Lutyens was credited with blending European styles and Indian architectural motifs in the new imperial capital, which was inaugurated in 1931.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

Some of these notes are discarded as fruitless, while others are tucked away to form a storehouse of motifs and studies for later use.

From "History of Art, Volume 1" by H.W. Janson

Related Words

• concept
• logo
• pattern