Lektron

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An ancient Greek term referring to amber, a fossilized resin prized for its golden color ; a source of static electricity in antiquity ; a substance once believed to possess mystical properties
2. A word from classical Greek denoting the mineral known as amber ; historically used to generate static charges ; a material often associated with magical or healing powers
3. In ancient Greek context, the name given to amber, the golden fossil resin ; recognized for its ability to attract things when rubbed ; revered for supposed supernatural qualities

Etymology: Ancient Greeks used "ēlektron" for amber, the fossilised tree resin that washes up on the Baltic and other shores. The word was also tied to a striking sensory fact: rubbed amber attracts light objects like straw and dust, and Thales of Miletus (c. 600 BCE) is recorded as having noticed this effect. That observation gave Greek a name for the phenomenon, which is why "electricity" traces back to the same word. The modern English term came much later. In 1600 William Gilbert, an English physician and natural philosopher, published "De Magnete," in which he coined the Latin "electricus" from "electrum" (the Latinised form of "ēlektron") to describe substances that behave like amber when rubbed. English "electric" followed in the seventeenth century, and "electricity" appeared in the 1640s, a Latin-derived coinage built on the Greek root rather than a word the ancients themselves used for the force.

Synonyms: electron