physical
/ˈfɪz.ɪ.kəl/
Word Rarity
Uncommon
Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.94 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
8
Letters
3
Syllables
8
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Of the human body.
adj
Of the human body.
Example Sentences
- "Her father was thrown from his horse, when his blood was in a very inflammatory state, and the bruises were very dangerous; his recovery was not expected by the physical tribe."
- "Phisicall [translating φαρμακώδεις (pharmakṓdeis)] herbes, as Helleborum, Lingewort, or Beares foote."
- "Is Brutus sick? and is it physical / To walk unbraced, and suck up the humours / Of the dank morning?"
- "It's not so much a physical place as a state of mind."
- "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."
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”).
Origin
- Source language: Latin
Word Breakdown
- Root: *bʰuH-, physica, φυσική
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈfɪz.ɪ.kəl/
- British English: /ˈfɪz.ɪ.kəl/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more physical (comparative)
most physical (superlative)
physickal (alternative, obsolete)
physicals (plural)
Derived Forms
Phrases
Frequently Paired Words
Synonyms
Antonyms
mental
psychical
psychological
spiritual
having to do with the mind
spirit viewed as distinct from body