Remanency

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The property of retaining magnetization after the external magnetic field has been removed
2. The quality of a material to hold magnetism even when the magnetic force is no longer applied
3. The tendency of certain substances to maintain their magnetic properties after the external magnetizing influence has ceased

Etymology: "Remanency" is an alternative form of "remanence," and the two are built from the same parts: "remanent," meaning "that which remains," plus the suffix "-ence," which turns an adjective-like quality into a noun for that quality. The word therefore names the state of something staying behind after the cause that produced it has gone. That literal sense is what the physics retains. A piece of iron that has been held near a magnet keeps some of its magnetism once the magnet is removed, and the word for that leftover magnetism is built directly on the idea of remaining. The meaning is almost exactly what the parts promise, with no later shift in sense to untangle.