physics

Definition

The branch of science concerned with the study of the properties and interactions of space, time, matter and energy.

Etymology

1580s; from physic (see also -ics), from Middle English phisik, from Old French fisike (“natural science, art of healing”), from Latin physica (“study of nature”), from Ancient Greek φυσική (phusikḗ), feminine singular of φυσικός (phusikós, “natural; physical”), from Ancient Greek φύσις (phúsis, “origin; nature, property”), from Ancient Greek φύω (phúō, “produce; bear; grow”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to appear, become, rise up”).

Example Sentences

• "Newtonian physics was extended by Einstein to explain the effects of travelling near the speed of light; quantum physics extends it to account for the behaviour of atoms."
• "An analysis of media reports can correspondingly cast some light not only on how much physics is being reported, but on what branches of physics attract most popular attention."
• "The physics of elementary particles in the 20th century was distinguished by the observation of particles whose existence had been predicted by theorists sometimes decades earlier."

Related Words