impetus: Meaning and Definition of
im•pe•tus
Pronunciation: (im'pi-tus), [key] — pl. -tus•es.
- a moving force; impulse; stimulus: The grant for building the opera house gave impetus to the city's cultural life.
- (broadly) the momentum of a moving body, esp. with reference to the cause of motion.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.