physical

adj
/ˈfɪz.ɪ.kəl/CA

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin physicālis, from Latin physica (“study of nature”), from Ancient Greek φυσική (phusikḗ), feminine singular of φυσικός (phusikós, “natural; physical”), from φύσις (phúsis, “origin, birth; nature, quality; form, shape; type, kind”), from φῠ́ω (phŭ́ō, “grow”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- (“to appear, become, rise up”).

  1. derived from *bʰuH-
  2. derived from φυσική
  3. derived from physica
  4. borrowed from physicālis

Definitions

  1. Of medicine.

  2. Of matter and nature.

    • Labour, then, in the physical world, is […] employed in putting objects in motion.
    • In America alone, people spent $170 billion on “direct marketing”—junk mail of both the physical and electronic varieties—last year. Yet of those who received unsolicited adverts through the post, only 3% bought anything as a result.
    • It's not so much a physical place as a state of mind.
  3. Of the human body.

    • Insults can hurt a lot more than physical injuries.
    • Are you feeling any physical effects?
    • A society sunk in ignorance, and ruled by mere physical force.
  4. + 3 more definitions
    1. Of a piece of media, existing as a tangible object instead of being digital.

      • There is just something so amazing about reading a physical book as compared to an e-book.
    2. A physical examination.

      • How long has it been since your last physical?
    3. A physical manifestation of psychic origin, as through ectoplasmic solidification.

      • "I don't mind readings and clairvoyance, but the physicals do try you."

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at physical. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01physical02nature03regeneration04renewal05renewing06renew07replenish08finish

A definitional loop anchored at physical. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at physical

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA