Although now usually hitched to the front of the noun motive to refer to a hidden need or desire that inspires action, ulterior began its career as an adjective in the 17th century describing something occurring at a subsequent time, such as “ulterior measures” taken after a lawful request. It then started to be used to mean both “more distant” (literally and figuratively) and “situated on the farther side.” The “hidden” sense, which is most familiar today, followed after those, with the word modifying nouns like purpose, design, and consequence. Ulterior comes directly from the Latin word for “farther” or “further,” itself assumed to be from ulter, meaning “situated beyond.”