November 04, 2009
- kinetic (adjective)
- \kuh-NET-ik\
- What does it mean?
- : of or relating to the motions of material bodies and the forces and energy associated with them
- How do you use it?
- In science, we learned that a moving object has kinetic energy.
- Are you a word wiz?
"Kinetic" comes to us from the Greek word which means "to move." Which of these words do you think came from the same Greek root?
Both "kinetic" and "cinema" moved into English by way of the Greek word "kinein," meaning "to move." "Kinetic" comes from "kinetikos," meaning "related to motion," which in turn came from the verb "kinein." "Cinema" is short for "cinematograph," a word we got from French, but that the French created from the Greek "kinema," meaning "movement," also from "kinein." So no matter what motion picture you see, a trip to the cinema is always a "moving" experience.
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