'money-motivated' originates from the combination of 'money' and 'motivated', where 'money' refers to currency and 'motivated' means driven by a particular factor.

'money' from Old French 'moneie' and 'motivated' from Latin 'motivus', eventually forming the modern English term 'money-motivated'.

Initially, it meant 'driven by financial gain', and this meaning has largely remained the same in modern usage.