Logistics

How to spell logistics

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce logistics

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does logistics mean?

1. nounThe detailed organisation and coordination of a complex operation, especially the movement, storage and supply of goods or people.

Logistics in a sentence

• The company hired a new manager to oversee shipping and logistics.

• Planning the wedding involved more logistics than the couple expected.

Where does logistics come from?

Language of origin: French

Logistics comes from the French word logistique, which the army used for the practical side of moving and quartering troops. That French term grew out of the verb loger, meaning 'to lodge' or 'to provide quarters', so the original idea was the business of billeting and supplying soldiers. There was also strong influence from the Greek logistikos, meaning 'skilled in calculating' (from logos, 'reckoning' or 'word'), which is why the field carries a sense of careful computation as well as supply. English borrowed the word in the nineteenth century as a military term, then broadened it through the twentieth century to cover the coordination of any complex operation, especially the movement of goods. The link to loger explains the otherwise odd 'g' in the middle, and the -ics ending follows the usual English pattern for naming a discipline, as in mathematics or economics.

How the word is built

• logist- (from French logistique, art of calculating, from Greek logistikos: skilled in reckoning)
• -ics (noun suffix for a field of activity)