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centrifuge

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Etymology and origin of the French word centrifuge

Confidence
Established
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1700 Varignon More words from the 17th century
Borrowed from
Latin centrifugus
Ultimate origin
Latin centrum,fuga
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
French centrifuge
English centrifuge

Pronunciation

  • /sɑ̃.tʁi.fyʒ/[1]

Forms

centrifuge (plural centrifuges)[1]

Etymology

It renders borrowed from New Latin centrifuga, coined by Newton in his Principia (1687),[2][3][4] from Latin centrum (“centre”) and fuga (“flight”);[2][3][4] the Petit Robert and the GLLF name the verb fugiō (“to flee”) instead.[5][6] Bloch and Wartburg date the word and centripète, from Newton's centripeta, to the same year.[7][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in 1700 in physics, in force centrifuge, in the Mémoires of Varignon,[2][6] meaning “that tends to move away from the centre”.[2]

Semantic evolution

First a term of physics, the adjective was taken up in other disciplines: botany (1863, inflorescence centrifuge, Littré), linguistics and physiology.[2][3] Used as a masculine noun it named a cream-separating machine (1895).[3] The verb centrifuger (1871) was derived from it, which in turn gave centrifugeur and centrifugeuse, the laboratory apparatus and the kitchen appliance.[3]

Timeline

  • 1687 – Newton coins centrifuga in Latin.[2][3]
  • 1700 – Varignon uses force centrifuge.[2][6]
  • 1863 – Littré records a botanical sense, inflorescence centrifuge.[2]
  • 1871 – The verb centrifuger is derived from it.[3]
  • 1895 – As a noun, it names a cream separator.[3]

Meanings

Adjective

  1. Centrifugal: tending to move away from the centre; opposed to centripète.[5][2][1]
  2. Force centrifuge: centrifugal force, the inertial force that pushes a body in rotation outwards from its path.[5][8]
  3. Pompe centrifuge: a rotary pump based on centrifugal force.[6][5]
  4. (figurative) Tending to scatter or to pull away from a centre.[5][1]

Word family

  • centrifuger
  • centrifugeuse
  • centrifugation

References

  1. ^ a b c d Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  4. ^ a b Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
  5. ^ a b c d e Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
  6. ^ a b c d Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
  7. ^ Bloch, Oscar; Wartburg, Walther von (1989), Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue française, 8th ed., Paris: Presses universitaires de France
  8. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)

Related etymologies

Cite this entry

“Centrifuge.” Etymologically, 14 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/fr/centrifuge. Accessed 15 Nov. 2026.

Last edited on . ·