Motif vs. Theme

A recurrent thematic element in an artistic or literary work.

A topic of discourse or discussion.

A dominant theme or central idea.

A subject of artistic representation.

(Music) A short rhythmic or melodic passage that is repeated or evoked in various parts of a composition.

An implicit or recurrent idea; a motif

A repeated figure or design in architecture or decoration.

A short composition assigned to a student as a writing exercise.

A recurrent pattern either of molecular sequence, usually of nucleotides or amino acids in proteins, or of molecular structure that usually corresponds to specific biological activity.

(Music) A recurring melodic element in a composition, especially a melody forming the basis of a set of variations.

A recurring or dominant element; an artistic theme.

See topic.

(music) A short melodic or lyrical passage that is repeated in several parts of a work.

A stem.

A decorative figure that is repeated in a design or pattern.

A subject, now especially of a talk or an artistic piece; a topic.

(dressmaking) A decorative appliqué design or figure, as of lace or velvet, used in trimming.

A recurring idea; a motif.

(crystallography) The physical object or objects repeated at each point of a lattice. Usually atoms or molecules.

A concept with multiple instantiations.

(chess) A basic element of a move in terms of why the piece moves and how it supports the fulfilment of a stipulation.

Any of various colors, or color palettes, in which a design is offered; (GUI) any of various skins for an app, affecting the visuals and perhaps other elements such as sound effects.

(biochemistry) In a nucleotide or aminoacid sequence, pattern that is widespread and has, or is conjectured to have, a biological significance.

(dated) An essay written for school.

Motive.

(music) The main melody of a piece of music, especially one that is the source of variations.

In literature and the fine arts, a salient feature or element of a composition or work; esp., the theme, or central or dominant feature;

A song, or a snippet of a song, that identifies a film, a TV program, a character, etc. by playing at the appropriate time.

A decorative appliqué design or figure, as of lace or velvet, used in trimming; also, a repeated design.

(grammar) The stem of a word.

a design that consists of recurring shapes or colors

(linguistics) thematic relation of a noun phrase to a verb.

a theme that is elaborated on in a piece of music

(linguistics) Theta role in generative grammar and government and binding theory.

a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work;

(linguistics) Topic, what is generally being talked about, as opposed to rheme.

A regional unit of organisation in the Byzantine empire.

(transitive) To give a theme to.

To apply a theme to; to change the visual appearance and/or layout of (software).

A subject or topic on which a person writes or speaks; a proposition for discussion or argument; a text.

Discourse on a certain subject.

A composition or essay required of a pupil.

A noun or verb, not modified by inflections; also, that part of a noun or verb which remains unchanged (except by euphonic variations) in declension or conjugation; stem.

That by means of which a thing is done; means; instrument.

The leading subject of a composition or a movement.

the subject matter of a conversation or discussion;

a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in a literary or artistic work;

(music) melodic subject of a musical composition;

an essay (especially one written as an assignment);

(linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed;

provide with a particular theme or motive;