Pyroelectricity

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The capability of particular materials to produce electric charges as a result of thermal changes occurs in some substances showing this behavior
2. The phenomenon where specific substances generate electrical charges when heated or cooled
3. An effect observed in certain materials causing them to develop an electrical potential due to variations in temperature

Etymology: Pyroelectricity is built from two Greek-rooted parts, and the first one is older than the second in a surprising way. "Pyro-" comes from Ancient Greek "pûr," meaning fire, while "electricity" traces back to "ḗlektron," the Greek word for amber. The ancient Greeks noticed that rubbed amber attracted light objects, and that observation eventually gave the modern science its name. Latin borrowed the Greek word as "ēlectrum," and scholars in the early modern period coined "electricus" from it, which passed into English as "electric." "Electricity" itself is the English noun formed from "electric" with the suffix "-ity," which came into English through Old French from Latin "-itās." So the word stacks a Greek fire root onto a chain of Latin suffixes built on a Greek word for amber. The pyro- element is what makes the term specific. Heating certain crystals changes their electrical charge, and the compound names that phenomenon by fusing "fire" with "electricity." The formation is a plain technical compound, so its meaning is transparent from its parts.