magnet

Etymology

From Middle English magnete, via Old French magnete, Latin magnetum (“lodestone”), from Ancient Greek μαγνῆτις [λίθος] (magnêtis [líthos], “Magnesian [stone]”), either after the Lydian city Magnesia ad Sipylum (modern-day Manisa, Turkey), or after the Greek region of Μαγνησία (Magnēsía) (whence came the colonist who founded the city in Lydia).

A stack of ferrite magnets

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈmæɡnət/
• Homophone: magnate (one pronunciation)

Noun

magnet (plural magnets)

1. A piece of material that attracts some metals by magnetism.
2. (informal, figuratively, preceded by a noun) A person or thing that attracts what is denoted by the preceding noun.

   He always had a girl on his arm - he's a bit of a babe magnet.

   • 2007, J. Michael Fay, Ivory Wars: Last Stand in Zakouma, National Geographic (March 2007), 47,

     […] I wanted to show Nick the largest of the water holes, Rigueik, that act as magnets to life in the dry season.

See also

• Wikipedia article on magnets
• Wikipedia article on magnetism

Anagrams

• Getman

Etymology

From English magnet, from Old French magnete, Latin magnetum "lodestone" from Ancient Greek μαγνῆτις [λίθος] (magnêtis [líthos], “Magnesian [stone]”), either after the Lydian city Magnesia ad Sipylum (modern-day Manisa, Turkey), or after the Greek region of Μαγνησία (Magnēsía) (whence came the colonist who founded the city in Lydia).

Pronunciation

• Hyphenation: mag‧net

Noun

magnet

1. a magnet

Etymology

Ancient Greek μαγνῆτις (magnêtis)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmaɡnɛt]

Noun

magnet m

1. magnet

Further reading

• magnet in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
• magnet in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Noun

magnet

1. Alternative form of magnete

Noun

magnet m (definite singular magneten, indefinite plural magneter, definite plural magnetene)

1. a magnet

References

• “magnet” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Noun

magnet m (definite singular magneten, indefinite plural magnetar, definite plural magnetane)

1. a magnet

References

• “magnet” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mǎɡneːt/
• Hyphenation: mag‧net

Noun

màgnēt m (Cyrillic spelling ма̀гне̄т)

1. a magnet (piece of material that attracts metal by magnetism)

References

• “magnet” in Hrvatski jezični portal

Noun

magnet c

1. a magnet (piece of material that attracts metal by magnetism)