Logistic

How to spell logistic

8 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce logistic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does logistic mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to the practical organisation and movement of people, supplies, or operations.
2. adjectiveDescribing a mathematical function or model with an S-shaped curve, used in growth and probability analysis.

Logistic in a sentence

• The warehouse move presented a serious logistic challenge for the whole team.

• The analyst fitted a logistic regression to predict whether customers would renew.

• Every logistic detail of the conference, from catering to seating, was planned months ahead.

• Population growth often follows a logistic curve that flattens near a limit.

Where does logistic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This word draws on two streams that happen to fall together in the same spelling. The mathematical and reasoning sense comes from the Greek logistikos, meaning 'skilled in calculating', built on logizesthai, 'to reckon or calculate', which in turn rests on logos, the broad Greek word for 'word, reason, or reckoning'. The everyday organisational sense, however, owes more to the French logistique, a military term tied to loger, 'to lodge or quarter troops', the business of feeding, housing, and moving an army. By the time English settled on 'logistic' and 'logistics' in the nineteenth century, the two ideas of careful calculation and practical supply had effectively merged. The shared logos root also lurks in 'logic' and the '-logy' of countless sciences, which is a useful reminder that the spelling keeps a single g and an i (log-i-stic), not the hard tangle some writers fear.

How the word is built

• logist- (from Greek logistikos: skilled in calculating, from logos: reason, calculation)
• -ic (adjective suffix)