Wiring

Part of speech: noun, verb

Definitions

1. The network of electrical conductors installed for power or communication purposes
2. A layout of connected wires used to facilitate the flow of electricity in devices
3. The arrangement of electrical cables installed within a building or device to distribute power or signals ; the specific pattern of wires linked together inside an object to enable electrical function

Etymology: "Wiring" is formed from "wire" plus the suffix "-ing", which turns a noun or verb into a noun for an activity, a process, or the material produced by one. "Wire" itself comes from Old English "wir", a word for a drawn metal thread, and English has long used "-ing" to name the stuff or work involved in a task. So "wiring" began as a plain name for the work of fitting wires, and its later sense of the whole network of conductors grew naturally out of that. The suffix does most of the work here, so the story is simple. Once "wire" was established as a metal filament, the sense of "installing wires" followed by ordinary English word formation, and the collective sense of the installed system came next. The word's meaning moved from the labour to the result, a shift common among nouns built this way.

Synonyms: cabling, electrical wiring, connections, circuitry, electrical system