'amotivation' originates from a Modern English formation combining the negative prefix 'a-' (from Greek 'a-' meaning 'not' or 'without') and the noun 'motivation' (ultimately from Latin 'movere'), where 'a-' meant 'not/without' and 'movere' meant 'to move'.

'amotivation' developed by combining the negative prefix 'a-' with 'motivation'; 'motivation' comes from Late Latin 'motivatio' (from Latin 'motivus', related to 'movere'), which passed into English via Medieval/Modern usage and then formed the compound 'amotivation' in contemporary psychological terminology.

Initially the components conveyed 'not' + 'to move', and the compounded modern term came to denote specifically an 'absence of motivation' or lack of intentional, goal-directed drive.