English Online Dictionary. What means electricity? What does electricity mean?
English
Etymology
From electric + -ity.
Pronunciation
- (UK) IPA(key): /ˌiːlɛkˈtɹɪsɪti/, /ɪˌlɛkˈtɹɪsɪti/, /ˌɛlɪkˈtɹɪsɪti/
- (US) IPA(key): /əˌlɛkˈtɹɪsɪti/, /iˌlɛkˈtɹɪsɪti/, /ɪˌlɛkˈt͡ʃɹɪsɪti/
- Rhymes: -ɪsɪti
Noun
electricity (usually uncountable, plural electricities)
- Originally, a property of amber and certain other nonconducting substances to attract lightweight material when rubbed, or the cause of this property; now understood to be a phenomenon caused by the distribution and movement of charged subatomic particles and their interaction with the electromagnetic field. [from 17th c.]
- 1747 July 28, Benjamin Franklin, letter to Peter Collinson, collected in New Experiments and Observations on Electricity, part I, 3rd edition, London: D. Henry and R. Cape, published 1760, page 8:
- For, reſtoring the equilibrium in the bottle does not at all affect the Electricity in the man thro’ whom the fire paſſes ; that Electricity is neither increaſed nor diminiſhed.
- (physics) The study of electrical phenomena; the branch of science dealing with such phenomena. [from 18th c.]
- A feeling of excitement; a thrill. [from 18th c.]
- Electrical power, as supplied by power stations or generators. [from 19th c.]
- (business, often attributive) The supply of electricity, as a utility.
Derived terms
Translations
See also
- alternating current (AC)
- circuit
- current
- direct current (DC)
- earth
- electric circuit
- electric current
- energy
- hydro
- power
- vacuum
- vending machines
See also
- electric
- electron
References
- Equivalent text in Pseudodoxia Epidemica, 6th edition (1672), p. 53
- de V. Heathcote, Niels H. (1967 December) “The early meaning of electricity: Some Pseudodoxia Epidemica - I”, in Annals of Science, volume 23, number 4, →DOI, →ISSN, WD Q54266797, pages 261–275