impetus
See also: ímpetus
English edit
Etymology edit
Borrowed from Latin impetus (“a rushing upon, an attack, assault, onset”), from impetō (“to rush upon, attack”), from in- (“upon”) + petō (“to seek, fall upon”).
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
impetus (plural impetuses)
- Anything that impels; a stimulating factor.
- The outbreak of World War II in 1939 gave a new impetus to receiver development.
- 1838 (date written), L[etitia] E[lizabeth] L[andon], chapter VI, in Lady Anne Granard; or, Keeping up Appearances. […], volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […], published 1842, →OCLC, page 64:
- Once set a strong mind thinking, and you have done all that it needs for its education. It matters little what is the first impetus, so that it only be set to work.
- 2011, Phil McNulty, Euro 2012: Montenegro 2-2 England[1]:
- In a single moment Montenegro and their supporters were given fresh impetus and encouragement. Beciraj tested Hart with a low shot before teenager Phil Jones, on his England debut, suffered an anxious moment when Stevan Jovetic went down under his challenge, leaving the youngster clearly relieved to see referee Stark wave away Montenegro's appeals.
- A force, either internal or external, that impels; an impulse.
- The force or energy associated with a moving body; a stimulus.
- (history, medieval physics) A principle of motive force, held as exquivalent to weight times velocity by John Buridan, in an auxiliary theory of Aristotelian dynamics introduced by John Philoponus, describing projectile motion against gravity as linear until it transitions to a vertical drop and the intellectual precursor to the concepts of inertia, momentum and acceleration in classical mechanics.
- An activity in response to a stimulus.
Related terms edit
Translations edit
something that impels
|
a force, either internal or external, that impels; an impulse
|
the force or energy associated with a moving body; a stimulus
|
an activity in response to a stimulus
See also edit
Further reading edit
- “impetus”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “impetus”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
- “impetus”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
Anagrams edit
Latin edit
Etymology edit
From impetō (“to rush upon, attack”), from in- (“upon”) + petō (“to seek, fall upon”).
Pronunciation edit
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈim.pe.tus/, [ˈɪmpɛt̪ʊs̠]
- (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA(key): /ˈim.pe.tus/, [ˈimpet̪us]
Noun edit
impetus m (genitive impetūs); fourth declension
- an attack, an assault, a charge
- Synonyms: incursiō, aggressiō, impressiō, invāsiō, assultus, oppugnātiō, incursus, concursus, occursiō, petītiō, appetītus, ictus, vīs, procella
- c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico VII.28:
- Ultimas oppidi partes Continenti impetu petiverunt
- By uninterrupted charge they rushed into the utmost parts of the town
- Ultimas oppidi partes Continenti impetu petiverunt
- a rapid motion
- impulse, vehemence, ardor, passion
- a making for
Declension edit
Fourth-declension noun.
Case | Singular | Plural |
---|---|---|
Nominative | impetus | impetūs |
Genitive | impetūs | impetuum |
Dative | impetuī | impetibus |
Accusative | impetum | impetūs |
Ablative | impetū | impetibus |
Vocative | impetus | impetūs |
Descendants edit
References edit
- “impetus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- “impetus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
- impetus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
- impetus in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
- Carl Meißner, Henry William Auden (1894) Latin Phrase-Book[2], London: Macmillan and Co.
- to have no principles: caeco impetu ferri
- to attack the enemy: invadere, impetum facere in hostem
- to resist the attack, onset: impetum sustinere (B. G. 1. 26)
- to parry the attack: impetum excipere (Liv. 6. 12)
- to have no principles: caeco impetu ferri
- “impetus”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.