The word 摩托 is formed through phonetic borrowing from the English word "motor". The character 摩 (mó) approximates the sound "mo", and 托 (tuō) approximates the sound "tor", combining to create a disyllabic term that replicates the pronunciation of the source word. The characters are selected primarily for their sonic values rather than their individual meanings, resulting in a loanword that denotes motorized vehicles like motorcycles.