Electromagnet

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A device that produces a magnetic field through electric current flowing in a wire coil, which can be activated or deactivated as needed for various uses
2. This magnet operates by utilizing electric current in a coiled wire to create a magnetic field that can be controlled for different functions
3. A magnet that generates a controllable magnetic field through the passage of electric current in a coil of wire is utilized in various applications

Etymology: The electromagnet is a compound of two words that each carry a long history. "Electro-" comes from the Greek "ēlektron," the word for amber, which was prized in antiquity and, when rubbed, attracted light objects. That old observation gave the modern field of electricity its name, and the Latin "electrum" carried the word forward before French and English adopted the prefix in scientific use. "Magnet" has an even older thread: it traces to the Greek "Mágnēs," a name tied to Magnesia, a region in Asia Minor, and reached English through Latin "magnēs" and Middle English "magnete" before the modern spelling settled in. The compound itself is a plain piece of modern coinage: "electro-" joined to "magnet," describing a magnet whose force comes from electric current rather than from a naturally magnetic material. Its formation reflects the nineteenth-century discovery that electricity and magnetism were linked, the connection that made the device possible.