Electrotechnics

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The field of engineering concerned with the design and use of electrical devices, machines and power systems
2. The applied science that deals with building and operating equipment that generates, carries and uses electricity
3. The technical discipline devoted to electrical apparatus, circuits and the systems that put electric power to practical use

Etymology: Electrotechnics is a compound of "electro-", from "electricity," and "technics," the study or practice of a technical art. The pairing is a modern coinage: "technics" was itself an old English word for the practical arts, borrowed from Greek "technikos," meaning "of art or craft," and derived from "techne," skill or craft. Electrotechnics therefore names the applied science of electrical engineering, and it was built the same way as earlier scientific terms that join a Greek-derived prefix to a noun. The first element traces back to "electron," the Greek word for amber, which was the substance that produced static charge when rubbed. English writers in the 1600s and 1700s used "electric" to describe such attraction, and "electricity" followed in the 1640s. The compound with "-technics" appeared as electrical engineering grew into a discipline in the late 1800s, when engineers needed names for their work.

Synonyms: electrical engineering, electronics