capillarity
|ca-pil-lar-i-ty|
🇺🇸
/ˌkæpəˈlærɪti/
🇬🇧
/ˌkæpɪˈlærəti/
liquid climbing thin tubes
Etymology
'capillarity' originates from French, specifically the word 'capillarité', where the root 'capilla-' ultimately comes from Latin 'capillus', meaning 'hair'.
'capillarity' changed from French 'capillarité', which derived from Latin 'capillaris' (from 'capillus' 'hair'), and entered English as the modern technical noun 'capillarity'.
Initially it referred to something 'hair-like' or 'of a hair'; over time it came to describe the property of liquids moving in hair-like (very thin) tubes — the modern meaning of capillary action.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the property or phenomenon by which a liquid rises or is drawn into narrow tubes or porous materials due to surface tension, cohesion, and adhesion (capillary action).
Capillarity causes water to rise in a thin glass tube.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Noun 2
the tendency or ability of something (e.g., influence, heat, or fluid) to penetrate or spread through very small channels or pores; a figurative use emphasizing penetration into fine networks.
The capillarity of the informal network allowed ideas to spread quickly across departments.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/24 23:21