Pneumatics

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The scientific discipline focused on the mechanical behavior of gases encompasses principles for using pressurized air in various devices
2. This area of study examines how gas under pressure can be harnessed to generate motion and perform work in machinery
3. The branch of engineering dealing with the behavior of gases under pressure explores their use in tools and machines for generating power and movement

Etymology: "Pneumatics" is the plural-looking noun for a branch of physics concerned with gases, but its history runs through Greek ideas about breath and wind. The Greek "pneuma" meant breath, air, or spirit, and the adjective "pneumatikos" described things relating to air or breath. Early physics treated air and other gases as a kind of "pneuma," so the study of that matter took the name of its subject. The English noun was formed from "pneumatic," the adjective, with the plural ending "-s" that marks many field names such as "mathematics" and "physics." The pattern follows Greek and Latin formations, where plural forms named whole disciplines, so the ending says nothing about the number of things studied. The adjective "pneumatic," meaning worked by air pressure, came first, and the noun followed from it.