electric

Etymology

1640s (Thomas Browne), from New Latin ēlectricus (“electrical; of amber”), from ēlectrum (“amber”) + -icus (“adjectival suffix”), from Ancient Greek ἤλεκτρον (ḗlektron, “amber”), related to ἠλέκτωρ (ēléktōr, “shining sun”), of unknown origin; see there for further information. The Latin term was apparently used first with the sense “electrical” in 1600 by the English physician and scientist William Gilbert in his work De Magnete.

adj

1. Of, relating to, produced by, operated with, or utilising electricity; electrical.
   But electric vehicles and the batteries that made them run became ensnared in corporate scandals, fraud, and monopolistic corruption that shook the confidence of the nation and inspired automotive upstarts. 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 1, in Internal Combustion
   [Rural solar plant] schemes are of little help to industry or other heavy users of electricity. Nor is solar power yet as cheap as the grid. For all that, the rapid arrival of electric light to Indian villages is long overdue. When the national grid suffers its next huge outage, as it did in July 2012 when hundreds of millions were left in the dark, look for specks of light in the villages. 2013-07-20, “Out of the gloom”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
   While Britain continues to argue about how to deliver affordable electrification and decarbonisation, Swiss railways have been 100% electric since the 1960s. December 14 2022, Ben Jones, “Switzerland: a template for Northern Powerhouse Rail?”, in RAIL, number 972, page 28
2. Of or relating to an electronic version of a musical instrument that has an acoustic equivalent.
3. Being emotionally thrilling; electrifying.
   And bold / Electric Pindar, quick as fear, / With race-dust on his cheeks, and clear / Slant startled eyes that seemed to hear // The chariot rounding the last goal, / to hurtle past it in his soul. a. 1857, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, “A Vision of Poets”, in Poems, volume I, New York: C. S. Francis & Co., published 1857, pages 195–196
   I SING the Body electric; The armies of those I love engirth me, and I engirth them; They will not let me off till I go with them, respond to them, And discorrupt them, and charge them full with the charge of the Soul. 1867, Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, page 98

noun

1. (informal, usually with definite article) Electricity; the electricity supply.
   We had to sit in the dark because the electric was cut off.
2. (informal) An electric powered version of something that was originally or is more commonly not electric.
   1. (rare, countable) An electric car.
      There were electric vehicles around, but four-wheel drive electrics were pretty damned rare, and the snow was deep enough to stop anything that didn't have a minimum of four big wheels spinning at all times. 2004, Dennis Barton, Red Star 4: Victory
   2. An electric toothbrush.
      The beautiful VIOlight bathroom unit takes up very little space (it's about the size of a cup), yet it holds up to 4 toothbrushes - even electrics! 2007, Working Mother, volume 31, number 1, page 71
   3. An electric typewriter.
      Richard's old Olivetti electric had been put aside for the time being on top of one of the filing cabinets. “It serves the purpose,” Richard said. He nodded at the word processor. 1983, Stephen King, Word Processor of the Gods
3. (archaic) A substance or object which can be electrified; an insulator or non-conductor, like amber or glass.
4. (fencing) Fencing with the use of a body wire, box, and related equipment to detect when a weapon has touched an opponent.