Electrokinetic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. The phenomenon involving the movement of fluid or particles through electric fields or the ability of objects to generate motion in response to electrical stimuli
2. A form of energy transfer where electric fields induce motion in ionic species or conductive materials in a medium
3. The process by which charged components influence the movement of fluids or solids through electrical interactions or forces

Etymology: Electrokinetic is a modern scientific compound, built from two Greek-derived parts. The first, "electro-", comes from the Greek "ḗlektron", meaning amber, the yellowish fossil resin that produces static charge when rubbed. Latin borrowed it as "ēlectrum", and by the time the word reached English, "electro-" had become the standard prefix for anything relating to electricity. The second part, "kinetic", descends from the Greek "kīnéō", meaning "to move", through "kīnēsis" (motion) and "kinētikós" (concerned with motion), which English adopted in the same scientific vocabulary. Joining the two gives a word that literally means "moved by electricity" or "relating to electrical motion." Its meaning is therefore transparent from its parts: the prefix supplies the agent and the root supplies the motion. Its formation reflects the nineteenth- and twentieth-century habit of combining classical elements into new technical terms, so no ancient writer ever used the compound itself.