Stimuli

How to spell stimuli

7 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce stimuli

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does stimuli mean?

1. nounThings that rouse or provoke a reaction or activity in a person, animal, or system.

Stimuli in a sentence

• The researchers measured how quickly volunteers responded to visual stimuli.

• Bright lights and loud noise are common stimuli that disrupt sleep.

Where does stimuli come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This is the plural of stimulus, which comes directly from the Latin stimulus, a word for a pointed stick or goad used to drive cattle and other animals forward. The Latin noun was related to the verb stinguere, meaning 'to prick' or 'to incite', so the literal sense was something that physically jabbed a creature into moving. English adopted stimulus in the early 1600s, at first in medical and scientific writing for anything that rouses the body or mind into activity, and it kept its original Latin plural form stimuli rather than taking an English -es ending. That retained Latin plural is the heart of the spelling trap, because writers reach for a familiar -us to -uses pattern and forget the classical -i. The same Latin root for prodding lives on in the verb 'stimulate' and in the related word 'instinct', both tied to the idea of being driven or urged on.

How the word is built

• stimul- (from Latin stimulus: a goad or prod)
• -i (Latin masculine plural ending)