Well attestedNamed from the place
magnet
noun · first attested Middle English
The lodestone is named for Magnesia.
A body that attracts iron; also a person or thing that attracts.
Record
- Relationship
- Named from the place
- Confidence
- Well attestedThe place link is the standard scholarly account.
- Attested
- Middle English
- Part of speech
- noun
Explanations here are written for this atlas. Dictionary text is not copied; the sources are linked so the claim can be checked.
- Step 1
Magnesia
- Step 2
Magnēs lithos
- In English
magnet
Greek Magnēs lithos, “stone of Magnesia,” named the lodestone for a district in Thessaly (and sometimes for Magnesia in Asia Minor). English magnet is that place-name, now used for any attracting body.
Also pinned to Magnesia
1 more from the same place
Greece
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