Dynamo

How to spell dynamo

6 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce dynamo

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does dynamo mean?

1. nounA machine that converts mechanical energy into electrical energy, especially direct current.
2. nounA person bursting with energy, drive, and productive enthusiasm.

Dynamo in a sentence

• The old bicycle had a small dynamo that powered the headlamp.

• The new sales manager was a real dynamo, closing three deals before lunch.

• The engineer replaced the worn dynamo that charged the engine battery.

• Despite her age, she remained a dynamo who organised the whole charity event single-handed.

Where does dynamo come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek dynamis, which meant 'power' or 'force', itself drawn from the verb dynasthai, 'to be able' or 'to have strength'. The same root quietly powers a whole family of English words, including 'dynamite', 'dynamic', and 'dynasty'. The modern term was coined in the nineteenth century as a shortening of 'dynamo-electric machine', a phrase popularised after the German engineer Werner von Siemens described such generators around 1867. By the 1880s 'dynamo' was the everyday name for a machine that converts mechanical rotation into electricity. The figurative sense, an unstoppably energetic person, followed naturally once the machine became a byword for tireless output. The spelling keeps the Greek 'dyn-' opening, so the trap is remembering the 'y' rather than an 'i'.

How the word is built

• dynamo- (from Greek dynamis: power, force)
• the noun was shortened from 'dynamo-electric machine'