Kinetic

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /kɪˈnɛtɪk/

Definitions

1. Relating to or resulting from motion
2. Having to do with the movement of objects or bodies
3. Connected with the process or energy of things moving

Etymology: Ancient Greeks had a word for the power to set things moving: "kinētikos," meaning "putting in motion," built from "kineō," "I move." Its English descendant "kinetic" keeps that original sense almost untouched, which is unusual for a word that passed through so many scholarly hands. The root "kinein" also gave Greek words like "kinēsis," meaning movement itself, and the Greek grammatical suffix "-ikos," which marks something as relating to or characterized by a thing. The Greek "kineō" traces back to a much older root, and the English term arrived as a scientific and philosophical vocabulary item rather than everyday speech. Its clearest modern use came in physics, where "kinetic energy" names the energy an object has because it is moving. The adjective simply carries the idea of "motion-related" into English, so a "kinetic sculpture" is one that moves, and "kinetic typography" animates letters on screen.

Synonyms: active, dynamic, moving, energetic, vital

Antonyms: static, motionless, stationary, inert, unmoving