magnet

magnet
\ \ [15] Greek Mágnēs líthos meant ‘stone from Magnesia’ – Magnesia being a region of Thessaly, Greece where much metal was obtained. It had two specific applications: to ore with magnetic properties, and to stone with a metallic sheen. And it was the first of these that has come down to English via Latin magnēta as magnet. English magnesia [14] comes from the same source, but it is not clear how it came to be applied (in the 18th century) to ‘magnesium oxide’, for it originally denoted, in the rather vague terminology of the alchemists, a ‘constituent of the philosopher’s stone’. In the 17th century it was used for ‘manganese’ (and manganese [17] itself comes via French from Italian manganese, an alteration of medieval Latin magnēsia). And when the term magnesium [19] was introduced (at the suggestion of the chemist Sir Humphry Davy), it too at first denoted ‘manganese’.
\ \ Cf.MAGNESIUM, MANGANESE

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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  • Magnet — Mag net (m[a^]g n[e^]t), n. [OE. magnete, OF. magnete, L. magnes, etis, Gr. Magnh^tis li qos a magnet, metal that looked like silver, prop., Magnesian stone, fr. Gr. Magnhsi a, a country in Thessaly. Cf. {Magnesia}, {Manganese}.] 1. The… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • magnet — MAGNÉT, magneţi, s.m. Minereu de fier care are proprietatea de a atrage materialele feromagnetice; corp metalic căruia i s a transmis calitatea, permanentă sau temporară, de a atrage obiectele de fier. – Din ngr. maghnítis, germ. Magnet. Trimis… …   Dicționar Român

  • Magnet — Magnet. Es gab vor Alters in Kleinasien zwei Städte, die Magnesia hießen. Die eine lag am Mäander, die andere, auch Heraklea genannt, ward zur Landschaft Lydien gerechnet und nach ihr soll der Magnet seinen Namen erhalten haben. Dieser seltsame… …   Damen Conversations Lexikon

  • magnet — [ maɲɛt ] n. m. • 1993; mot angl. « aimant » ♦ Anglic. Petit objet décoratif monté sur aimant. Des magnets. (Recomm. offic. aimantin.) ● magnet nom masculin (anglais magnet, aimant) Petit objet décoratif aimanté que l on applique sur un support… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Magnet — Sm std. (13. Jh.), mhd. magnes, fnhd. magnet[e] Onomastische Bildung. Ist entlehnt aus l. magnēs ( ētis) und Magnēs lapis, dieses aus gr. Mágnēs (líthos), eigentlich Stein aus Magnēsíā , nach dem natürlichen Vorkommen in der thessalischen… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • magnet — (n.) mid 15c. (earlier magnes, late 14c.), from O.Fr. magnete magnetite, magnet, lodestone, and directly from L. magnetum (nom. magnes) lodestone, from Gk. ho Magnes lithos the Magnesian stone, from Magnesia, region in Thessaly where magnetized… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Magnet — Magnet, NE U.S. village in Nebraska Population (2000): 79 Housing Units (2000): 39 Land area (2000): 0.144242 sq. miles (0.373585 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.144242 sq. miles (0.373585 sq.… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • Magnet, NE — U.S. village in Nebraska Population (2000): 79 Housing Units (2000): 39 Land area (2000): 0.144242 sq. miles (0.373585 sq. km) Water area (2000): 0.000000 sq. miles (0.000000 sq. km) Total area (2000): 0.144242 sq. miles (0.373585 sq. km) FIPS… …   StarDict's U.S. Gazetteer Places

  • magnet — màgnēt m <G magnéta> DEFINICIJA 1. fiz. tijelo koje, oko sebe stvara magnetsko polje, privlači željezo ili čelik, a odbija dijamagnetike, ima S i J pol 2. pren. onaj koji privlači pozornost [bila je magnet za novinare] FRAZEOLOGIJA imati… …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • magnet- — magneto DEFINICIJA kao prvi dio riječi znači da se što odnosi na magnet [magnetsko; magnetično] ETIMOLOGIJA lat. magneticus: magnetski ≃ grč., v. magnet …   Hrvatski jezični portal

  • magnét- — ⇒MAGNÉT(O) , (MAGNÉT , MAGNÉTO )élém. de compos. Élém. représentant l adj. magnétique ou le subst. magnétisme. I. Élém. entrant dans la constr. de termes sav. ou techn. A. [Le 2e élém. est un adj. ou un subst. caractérisant l objet ou le… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

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