Where does モテ come from? モテる to be popular with opposite sex.
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2019-03-08T04:57:05.877
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2019-03-08T17:48:47.437
2019-03-08T05:54:34.873
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verbs etymology colloquial-language katakana slang
What is the etymology of モテる?
モテる derives from 持てる. It is written with katakana to show its colloquial
meaning. (Note that it is モテる and not *モてる. Similarly one has キレる, イケる, ウケる,
etc.)

For example 大辞林 has

> **もてる** 【持てる】
>
> （動 タ 下一）  
>  〔「持つ」の可能動詞から〕
>
> ① 人気があって、ちやほやされる。 「女に－・てる男」  
>  ② 長くその状態を保つ。維持する。もちこたえる。 「共通の話題がなくて座が－・てない」

I guess the meaning of モテる can be explained as follows. 持てる means "to be able
to carry/bear" and a secondary meaning is "to sustain/support". The meaning of
モテる "to be popular" now derives from this extended meaning "to
support/endorse". (Note also 持て囃す・持て栄す "to praise".)

Grammatically, this might be a bit confusing as the role of もてる is somewhere
between active voice ("to support") and passive voice ("to be supported"), but
on this point even the dictionaries cannot agree: For example 大辞泉 lists 維持
**される** as a meaning, whereas 大辞林 (above) has 維持 **する**.
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2019-03-08T05:53:22.543
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2019-03-08T08:16:12.760
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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answer
I've been following this thread with some interest. So far, I think folks are
missing some of the underlying sense of 持つ, and the semantic overlap with
certain English expressions that might more clearly explain the development to
English readers.

持つ does include senses of _"to hold"_ , as mentioned by the original poster.

However, it **also** includes senses of _"to get, to receive"_ , and this is
where we can start to see relevance to the _"popular"_ sense at issue in the
question.

Think about the English expression _"to get some"_ , as pertains to men and
women (or more broadly, to any potential coupling scenario). The English
phrase is specifically about getting (usually very particular) attention. The
Japanese verb モテる is 持つ conjugated in the potential form, and thus the meaning
is more like _"to **be able to** get some"_, that is, _"to be popular (with
the opposite sex)"_.

_(The above is based on limited research. If anyone has any backing from
historical documents that could further elucidate the sense development, by
all means, please post.)_
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