Dynamite

Part of speech: noun, verb

Pronunciation: /ˈdʌɪnəmʌɪt/

Definitions

1. A powerful explosive made from nitroglycerin and an absorbent substance ; an object or person that is remarkable or highly impressive
2. A blasting agent composed of stabilized nitroglycerin used in demolition ; a thing or individual that is outstanding and has great impact
3. A dangerous explosive compound used to break rock or structures ; something or someone that excels and produces a strong effect

Etymology: Alfred Nobel patented dynamite in 1867, and he was not trying to name a new kind of power so much as to solve a problem. Nitroglycerin was a far more powerful explosive, but it was so unstable that it killed people in transport and handling accidents. Nobel mixed it with a absorbent silica-based earth, which made it safe to handle and easy to shape into charges, and he needed a name for the product. He took the Ancient Greek "dúnamis", meaning "power", and added the suffix "-ite", which chemists used for many substances, so the name was built to sound like a manufactured, scientific compound. The word's form may also have been shaped by similar-sounding words of the day. Its ending and sound suggest a link to "dynamo" and "dynamic", both of which were already in use for force and energy, so the name may have been reinforced by those familiar terms. The explanation is probable rather than certain, but the core origin, a Greek word for power joined to a chemical-sounding suffix, is well established.

Synonyms: explosive, bomb