English
mechanics
Mechanics comes from Latin mēchanicus ‘mechanic’, and goes back to Ancient Greek μηχανή ‘machine, tool’.
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμηχανήmēkhanḗ‘machine, tool’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEμηχανικόςmēkhanikós‘of or pertaining to machines, mechanical’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmēchanicus‘mechanic’
- Englishearliest quotation 1991mechanics
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEμηχανήmēkhanḗ‘machine, tool’
- Ancient Greek, derivedc. 800–300 BCEμηχανικόςmēkhanikós‘of or pertaining to machines, mechanical’
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEmēchanicus‘mechanic’
- Englishearliest quotation 1991mechanics
Earliest quotation: 1991, Marilyn Cochran-Smith, Cynthia L. Paris: “It was anticipated that children who encountered difficulty with…”
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *megʰ- ‘to be able’
may, might, main, yay, dismay, magician, mower, mage, magus, yayo, 80 more
through Ancient Greek μηχανή ‘machine, tool’
through Latin mēchanicus ‘mechanic’
Today it means
noun The branch of physics that deals with the action of forces on material objects with mass.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Ancient Greek μηχανή / mechanics