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Motto vs Quotation - What's the difference?

motto | quotation |

As nouns the difference between motto and quotation

is that motto is motto while quotation is a fragment of a human expression that is repeated exactly by somebody else most often a quotation is taken from literature or speech, but scenes from a movie, elements of a painting, a passage of music, etc, may be quoted.

motto

English

(Webster 1913)

Noun

(en-noun)
  • (heraldry) A sentence, phrase, or word, forming part of an heraldic achievement.
  • A sentence, phrase, or word, prefixed to an essay, discourse, chapter, canto, or the like, suggestive of its subject matter; a short, suggestive expression of a guiding principle; a maxim.
  • * (Joseph Addison) (1672-1719)
  • It was the motto of a bishop eminent for his piety and good works, ... Serve God, and be cheerful.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1922, author=(Ben Travers), title=(A Cuckoo in the Nest)
  • , chapter=1 citation , passage=“[…] the awfully hearty sort of Christmas cards that people do send to other people that they don't know at all well. You know. The kind that have mottoes like
      Here's rattling good luck and roaring good cheer, / With lashings of food and great hogsheads of beer. […]”}}

    Synonyms

    * See also

    quotation

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A fragment of a human expression that is repeated exactly by somebody else. Most often a quotation is taken from literature or speech, but scenes from a movie, elements of a painting, a passage of music, etc., may be quoted.
  • "Where they burn books, they will also burn people" is a famous quotation from Heinrich Heine.
  • The act of naming a price; the price that has been quoted.
  • Let's get a quotation for repairing the roof before we decide whether it's worth doing.

    Synonyms

    * quote * citation

    Derived terms

    * quotation mark * RFQ (request for quotation)