Centrifugal
/sɛn.trɪˈfjuː.ɡəl/noun
Tending or causing to move or fly away from a center or axis.
Did you know?Isaac Newton, who devoted half his life to alchemy, biblical codes, and apocalyptic prophecies, coined 'centrifugal' in 1687 to name the force defying attraction to the divine center.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*ḱent-
“to prick or jab”
Ancient Greek
Gk
kentron
“sharp point, spur, geometric center”
1st century BCE
Lat
centrum
“fixed point, center”
Classical period
Lat
fugere
“to flee, take flight, run away”
1687
Mod. Lat.
centrifugus
“fleeing the center”
1738
Eng
centrifugal
“tending to proceed from a center”
Explore more surprising origins