of, derived from, produced by, producing, transmitting, or powered by electricityelectric current; an electric cord; an electric blanket; an electric fence; an electric fire
(of a musical instrument) amplified electronicallyan electric guitar; an electric mandolin
very tense or exciting; emotionally chargedan electric atmosphere
noun
informalan electric train, car, etc
Britishinformalelectricity or electrical power
(plural)an electric circuit or electric appliances
Word Origin for electric
C17: from New Latin electricus amber-like (because friction causes amber to become charged), from Latin ēlectrum amber, from Greek ēlektron, of obscure origin
1640s, first used in English by physician Sir Thomas Browne (1605-1682), apparently coined as Modern Latin electricus (literally "resembling amber") by English physicist William Gilbert (1540-1603) in treatise "De Magnete" (1600), from Latin electrum "amber," from Greek elektron "amber" (Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus), also "pale gold" (a compound of 1 part silver to 4 of gold); of unknown origin.
Originally the word described substances which, like amber, attract other substances when rubbed. Meaning "charged with electricity" is from 1670s; the physical force so called because it first was generated by rubbing amber. In many modern instances, the word is short for electrical. Figurative sense is attested by 1793. Electric toothbrush first recorded 1936; electric typewriter 1958.
