Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Impetus
Im′pe-tus
(ĭm′pē̍-tŭs)
, Noun.
1.
A property possessed by a moving body in virtue of its weight and its motion; the force with which any body is driven or impelled; momentum.
☞ Momentum is the technical term, impetus its popular equivalent, yet differing from it as applied commonly to bodies moving or moved suddenly or violently, and indicating the origin and intensity of the motion, rather than its quantity or effectiveness.
3.
(Gun.)
The altitude through which a heavy body must fall to acquire a velocity equal to that with which a ball is discharged from a piece.
Webster 1828 Edition
Impetus
IM'PETUS
,Noun.
1.
The force with which one body in motion strikes another.Definition 2024
impetus
impetus
See also: ímpetus
English
Noun
impetus (plural impetuses)
- Something that impels, a stimulating factor.
- The outbreak of World War II in 1939 gave a new impetus to receiver development.
- 2011, Phil McNulty, Euro 2012: Montenegro 2-2 England
- 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.
- An activity in response to a stimulus.
Translations
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
Related terms
See also
Anagrams
Latin
Etymology
From impetō (“to rush upon, attack”), from in- (“upon”) + petō (“to seek, fall upon”).
Pronunciation
- (Classical) IPA(key): /ˈim.pe.tus/, [ˈɪm.pɛ.tʊs]
Noun
impetus m (genitive impetūs); fourth declension
- an attack
- a rapid motion
- a making for
Inflection
Fourth declension.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| nominative | impetus | impetūs |
| genitive | impetūs | impetuum |
| dative | impetuī | impetibus |
| accusative | impetum | impetūs |
| ablative | impetū | impetibus |
| vocative | impetus | impetūs |
Descendants
References
- 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, 1883–1887)
- Félix Gaffiot (1934), “impetus”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
- Meissner, Carl; Auden, Henry William (1894) Latin Phrase-Book, 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, The Century Co., New York, 1911