momentum
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Pronunciation
- IPA: /ˌmə(ʊ)ˈmɛntəm/ (UK); /ˌmoʊˈmɛntəm/ (US)[1]
Etymology
It is borrowed from Latin mōmentum (“movement, moving power”), from *movimentum, from movēre, to move;[2][3][4] it is a doublet of moment.[2][5]
Earliest recorded meaning
Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1610;[5] the SOED's first sense, a turning motion, is early 17th century and long obsolete.[6]
Semantic evolution
The scientific sense in mechanics, the quantity of motion of a moving body, the product of its mass and velocity, is from 1699 (the 1690s).[2][7][3] The figurative sense, force gained by movement, an impelling force, is from 1782,[3][7] and in popular use the effect of inertia in keeping something moving from 1860.[7]
Timeline
- 1610 – first known use.[5]
- 1699 – quantity of motion (mechanics).[7]
- 1782 – impetus (figurative).[7]
- 1860 – continuance of motion (popular).[7]
Modern meaning
Noun
- (physics) The product of a body's mass and its velocity.
- The force or impetus of a moving body.
- The driving force of a process or course of events: the campaign gained momentum.
Word family
- angular momentum
Related words
References
- ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
- ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
- ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
- ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
- ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
- ^ a b c d e f Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press