Electrical

How to spell electrical

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce electrical

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does electrical mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to, operated by, or producing electricity.

Electrical in a sentence

• The landlord arranged for an electrical inspection before the tenants moved in.

• A qualified electrical engineer rewired the entire workshop.

Where does electrical come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word traces back to the Greek elektron, the word for amber, the fossilised tree resin that ancient observers noticed could attract light objects after being rubbed with cloth. In the early 1600s the English scientist William Gilbert coined the Latin term electricus, meaning roughly 'amber-like' or 'behaving like amber', to describe that same attractive force. From electricus English built the adjective 'electric', and then layered on the extra suffix -al to make 'electrical', which by the early 1700s came to describe things connected with or operating by electricity. The doubled adjective ending is the spelling trap: 'electric' already feels complete, so the -al that turns it into 'electrical' is easy to forget or fumble. The amber origin survives quietly inside that opening 'electr-', a small reminder that the science of electricity began with a rubbed lump of tree resin.

How the word is built

• electr- (from Greek elektron: amber)
• -ic (adjective: relating to)
• -al (adjective: pertaining to)