Inertia
/ɪˈnɜːr.ʃə/noun
The tendency of an object or person to resist change in motion or state.
Did you know?In Latin, inertia meant “unskillfulness” or “idleness,” and only later did scientists repurpose it for the stubborn resistance of matter to change.
Etymological Timeline
Latin
Latin
inertia
“idleness, inactivity, lack of skill”
Late Latin
Latin
inertĭa
“idleness; unproductiveness; lack of skill”
17th Century
English
inertia
“sluggishness, inactivity”
17th Century
Latin (scientific)
inertia
“the property of matter that resists change in motion”
Modern English
English
inertia
“the tendency of a body or person to resist change”
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