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The word electric is derived from the Greek word for amber, elektron. It is only in modern times that practical use has been made of electricity, but some electrical phenomena have been known since antiquity. Certain philosophers of ancient Greece found that by rubbing amber with a piece of cloth, they could enable the amber to pick up light objects, such as feathers. In the 17th century, students of natural science began to discover that other natural phenomena were related to the effect of friction on amber.
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Examples of electric in a Sentence
Quartz Bot, Quartz, 19 Nov. 2024
Loading your audio article In the first month of its electric train service, Caltrain saw over 753,000 passengers — a 54% increase from October 2023 and its best ridership numbers since the coronavirus pandemic, according to new figures released by the transit agency.
—Kate Talerico, The Mercury News, 15 Nov. 2024
Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 29 Oct. 2024
As a new generation of EVs (including Teslas) comes standard with bidirectional charging, the feature may become a big part of the pitch for going electric.
—Andrew Moseman, The Atlantic, 1 Oct. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Electric.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/electric. Accessed 1 Dec. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
electric
1 of 2 adjective
electric
2 of 2 nounAdjective
from scientific Latin electricus "produced from amber by friction," derived from earlier Latin electrum "amber," derived from Greek ēlektron (same meaning); so called because static electricity was first discovered by the friction produced by rubbing a piece of amber
Medical Definition
electric
adjective
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