magneticus

Forms

magnēticus (feminine magnētica, neuter magnēticum); first/second-declension adjective^[1]

Etymology

It is from Latin magnēs (“magnet”) + -icus.^[1][2] Köbler compares Ancient Greek Μαγνητικός (Magnētikós, “Magnesian”).^[3] The magnet, ⟨magnēs⟩, was the Magnesian stone, named after Μαγνησία (Magnēsía).^[4][3]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first found about 400 AD in Claudian's short poem on the magnet,^[3][2] meaning “of the magnet”.^[2]

Semantic evolution

In Modern Latin it became the term for magnetic properties, and English took it from there in the 1610s as magnetic, first literally, “having the properties of a magnet”; the figurative sense “attractive” followed in the 1630s.^[5]

Timeline

• c. 400 AD – Claudian uses it in his poem on the magnet.^[3][2]
• 1610s – Borrowed from Modern Latin into English as magnetic.^[5]

Meanings

Adjective

1. Of the magnet, magnetic.^[2][1]

Related words

• magnēs
• English magnetic

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Gaffiot, Félix (2016), Dictionnaire latin-français, new ed. by Gérard Gréco et al. (Gaffiot 2016), online ed.
3. ^ a b c d Köbler, Gerhard (2010), Lateinisches Abkunfts- und Wirkungswörterbuch für Altertum und Mittelalter, online ed., koeblergerhard.de
4. ^ Georges, Karl Ernst (1913–1918), Ausführliches lateinisch-deutsches Handwörterbuch, 8th ed., ed. Heinrich Georges, Hannover; Leipzig: Hahn
5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com