Where does “physical” come from?
Physical derives from Late Latin physicalis, from Latin -alis combined with Ancient Greek φυσικός, which contains the suffix -ικός ultimately from Proto-Indo-European -kos and the root bʰuH-.
physical (English): "Of medicine."; "Of matter or nature."; "Of the...
Definitions
- "Of medicine."; "Of matter or nature."; "Of the...
Ancestry of “physical”, step by step
physical traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Latin physicalis
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Latin | physicalis | physics, natural science |
| 2 | Latin | physica | natural sciences; natural philosophy; physics;... |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | φυσικός | natural, produced or caused by nature, inborn,... |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | φύσις | origin, birth; nature, quality, property; later,... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | φύω | To bring forth, produce, generate, cause to grow;... |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | bʰuHyéti | to be becoming, to be growing, to be appearing |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -yéti | Creates intransitive, often deponent,... |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | yé- | — |
| 9 | Chichewa | iye | he, she |
via Late Latin physicalis
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Late Latin | physicalis | physics, natural science |
Words derived from “physical”
- physically
- biophysical
- physicality
- geophysical
- psychophysical
- physicalism
- nonphysical
- astrophysical
- physicalist
- microphysical
- physisorption
- unphysical
- photophysical
- thermophysical
- physicalistic
- superphysical
- petrophysical
- macrophysical
- biophysically
- electrophysical
- hyperphysical
- physicalization
- hydrophysical
- biogeophysical