English
magnet
Magnet may come from Middle English magnete ‘lodestone’.
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500magnete‘lodestone’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1939magnet
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Middle Englishc. 1150–1500magnete‘lodestone’uncertain
- Englishearliest quotation 1939magnet
Earliest quotation: 1939, D. S. Barrie, The Railways of South Wales: “Iron and coal were the magnets that drew railways…”
Every English word from Middle English magnete
Today it means
noun A piece of material that attracts some metals by magnetism.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Middle English magnete / magnet