energy

pronunciation

How to pronounce energy in British English: UK [ˈenədʒi]word uk audio image

How to pronounce energy in American English: US [ˈenərdʒi] word us audio image

  • Noun:
    (physics) the capacity of a physical system to do work; the units of energy are joules or ergs
    an exertion of force
    enterprising or ambitious drive
    an imaginative lively style (especially style of writing)
    a healthy capacity for vigorous activity

Word Origin

energy
energy: [16] Energy comes ultimately from Greek érgon ‘deed, work’. This was a descendant of Indo-European *wergon, which also produced English work, liturgy, organ, and orgy. Addition of the prefix en- ‘at’ produced the adjective energés or energōs ‘at work’, hence ‘active’, which Aristotle used in his Rhetoric as the basis of a noun enérgeia, signifying a metaphor which conjured up an image of something moving or being active. This later came to mean ‘forceful expression’, or more broadly still ‘activity, operation’. English acquired the word via late Latin energīa.=> liturgy, organ, orgy, work
energy (n.)
1590s, "force of expression," from Middle French énergie (16c.), from Late Latin energia, from Greek energeia "activity, action, operation," from energos "active, working," from en "at" (see en- (2)) + ergon "work, that which is wrought; business; action" (see organ). Used by Aristotle with a sense of "actuality, reality, existence" (opposed to "potential") but this was misunderstood in Late Latin and afterward as "force of expression," as the power which calls up realistic mental pictures. Broader meaning of "power" in English is first recorded 1660s. Scientific use is from 1807. Energy crisis first attested 1970.

Antonym

n.

inertia

Example

1. Energy prices are truly different .
2. Energy is a different story .
3. Energy is the obvious example .
4. Onboard computers handle energy management .
5. These initiatives will take time and energy .

more: >How to Use "energy" with Example Sentences