Key terms & definitions

The willingness of employees to work hard for a business.

The drive or desire to achieve something, such as improving a sporting performance.

A need or desire that drives behaviour, such as hunger or the desire to succeed.

A reason for acting; in an assassination investigation, a motive explains why someone might want the ruler dead but does not prove involvement.

The varied-coloured or patchwork clothing associated with a professional fool.

An output device that converts electrical energy into movement, usually rotation of a shaft.

A region of the frontal lobe that controls voluntary movement.

The force on a current-carrying conductor when it is in a magnetic field.

The force experienced by a current-carrying conductor placed in a magnetic field.

A nerve cell that carries electrical impulses from the central nervous system to an effector.

A neuron that carries signals from the central nervous system to an effector, such as a muscle or gland.

A nerve cell that carries electrical impulses from the central nervous system to an effector.

A neurone that carries electrical impulses from the central nervous system to an effector.

An action or task with a target or goal that requires voluntary movement of the body and/or limbs to achieve it.

The earth mound supporting the keep in a motte-and-bailey castle.

A castle with a raised earth mound, called a motte, and an enclosed courtyard, called a bailey.

A castle consisting of a tower on a raised earth mound, the motte, and an enclosed courtyard, the bailey. Early Norman examples commonly used timber.

A shaped cavity used to form material into a required shape.

A fungus that grows as thread-like filaments and can form visible furry patches on food.

The shaped space inside a mould that fills with polymer and determines the form of the moulded component.

A length of material with a shaped cross-section, often used for features such as skirting boards or door frames.

A heavily equipped warrior trained to fight on horseback, usually drawn from wealthy landowning society.

The expression of grief following someone’s death, sometimes through particular clothing, rituals or withdrawal from social life.

The place where a river enters the sea, a lake or another river.

A character through whom a writer expresses important beliefs or arguments.

Possessions that could be moved, such as livestock and other goods, rather than land or buildings.

A group of English poets associated with the 1950s, including Elizabeth Jennings, whose writing often used clear language and traditional poetic forms.

A change in body position made possible when muscles pull on bones at joints.

The mean of a fixed number of consecutive observations, recalculated as the group moves forward one observation at a time.

A device in which a current-carrying coil moves in a permanent magnet’s field and drives a cone or diaphragm to produce sound.