electric

来自拉丁文electrum, 琥珀。因古人发现琥珀经摩擦后可以吸附其它物体，因此就借用该拉丁词表示电。

electric (adj.)

1640s, first used in English by physician Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682), apparently coined as Modern Latin electricus (literally "resembling amber") by English physicist William Gilbert (1540-1603) in treatise "De Magnete" (1600), from Latin electrum "amber," from Greek elektron "amber" (Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus), also "pale gold" (a compound of 1 part silver to 4 of gold); which is of unknown origin.

Vim illam electricam nobis placet appellare [Gilbert]

Originally the word described substances which, like amber, attract other substances when rubbed. Meaning "charged with electricity" is from 1670s; the physical force so called because it first was generated by rubbing amber. In many modern instances, the word is short for electrical. Figurative sense is attested by 1793. Electric light is from 1767. Electric toothbrush first recorded 1936; electric blanket in 1930. Electric typewriter is from 1958. Electric guitar is from 1938; electric organ coined as the name of a hypothetical future instrument in 1885.

1. All Dreamland's electric blankets are guaranteed for three years.

所有的梦乡牌电热毯质保3年。

2. Water and electric hook-ups are available and facilities are good.

水和电都可以接通，设施也很不错。

3. Hybrids, unlike pure electric cars, never need to be plugged in.

与纯电动汽车不同，混合动力车永远不需要接电源。

4. The company, New England Electric, burns coal to generate power.

新英格兰电力公司用煤发电。

5. In an electric power plant the heat converts water into high-pressure steam.

在发电厂里，热能将水转化成高压蒸汽。