Science & TechnologyGreek → English
Hydraulic
/haɪˈdrɔːlɪk/adjective
Worked by liquid forced through pipes under pressure.
The Greek roots
ὕδωρ
hýdōr
water
αὐλός
aulós
pipe, reed flute
Literally: “of the water pipe”
The story of the word
The ὕδραυλις was a real machine, an organ built by Ktesibios in Alexandria in the third century BC, in which a water column held the air pressure steady so the pipes stayed in tune. αὐλός is the pipe. The word entered English in the 1610s still carrying water and music with it, and only later attached itself to presses, jacks and brakes.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → French → English
- First recorded
- 1610s
The same roots elsewhere
Other languages reached for exactly the same Greek pieces.
Same family
hydranthydroelectrichydradehydrate
In a sentence
A hydraulic ram lifts the whole cab clear of the chassis.