Dynamite
/ˈdaɪ.nə.maɪt/noun
A powerful explosive made with nitroglycerin absorbed in an inert material.
Did you know?Nobel named dynamite from Greek dýnamis, meaning “power,” and the same root also gave us words like dynamo and dynamic — so this explosive is etymologically a weaponized force-word.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Gk
dýnamis
“power, ability, strength”
Late Greek
Gk
dynamitēs
“powerful; having force”
1860s
German
Dynamit
“Nobel's new explosive compound”
1867
English
dynamite
“the explosive substance invented by Alfred Nobel”
Modern English
English
dynamite
“a powerful explosive; also, figuratively, something excellent or sensational”
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