The word for today is…
impetus (noun):
1a(1) : a driving force
(2) : incentive, stimulus
b : stimulation or encouragement resulting in increased activity
2 : the property possessed by a moving body in virtue of its mass and its motion
Source : Merriam -Webster
Etymology : Impetus comes from the Latin verb impetere, meaning “to attack,” which is a combination of the prefix in-, meaning “toward,” with petere, meaning “to go to” or “to seek.” Hence, impetus describes the kind of force that encourages an action (“The impetus behind the project”) or the momentum of an action already begun (“The meetings only gave impetus to the rumors of a merger”).
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