Electromagnetic

How to spell electromagnetic

15 letters · 6 syllables

How to pronounce electromagnetic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does electromagnetic mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to the combined effects of electric currents and magnetic fields.

Electromagnetic in a sentence

• The new motor relies on a strong electromagnetic field to spin its rotor.

• Engineers shielded the cables to block electromagnetic interference from nearby equipment.

Where does electromagnetic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word is a nineteenth-century scientific compound built from two ancient Greek roots. The first part comes from elektron, the Greek word for amber, the fossilised resin that the Greeks noticed could attract light objects when rubbed; that humble observation eventually gave its name to electricity itself. The second part comes from magnes, short for the phrase lithos Magnetis, meaning 'stone of Magnesia', after a region in Asia Minor where naturally magnetic rock was found. English fused these into 'electromagnetic' in the early 1800s once scientists such as Hans Christian Orsted and Michael Faraday demonstrated that electric currents and magnetism are two sides of one phenomenon. The adjective ending '-ic' simply turns the compound into a describing word for anything involving both forces. Because the term is stitched together from these older roots, the spelling is regular throughout: each piece is spelled exactly as it appears in 'electric' and 'magnet', so remembering the parts is the surest way to spell the whole.

How the word is built

• electro- (relating to electricity, from Greek elektron 'amber')
• magnet (from Greek magnes, a magnetic stone)
• -ic (adjective suffix)