ELASTICITY

elasticity, snap

(noun) the tendency of a body to return to its original shape after it has been stretched or compressed; “the waistband had lost its snap”

Source: WordNet® 3.1


Etymology

Noun

elasticity (countable and uncountable, plural elasticities)

(physics) The property by virtue of which a material deformed under load can regain its original dimensions when unloaded

(economics) The sensitivity of changes in a quantity with respect to changes in another quantity.

(computing) A measure of the flexibility of a data store's data model and clustering capabilities.

(computing) A system's ability to adapt to changes in workload by automatically provisioning and de-provisioning resources.

(mathematics) The ratio of the relative change in a function's output with respect to the relative change in its input, for infinitesimal changes at a certain point.

Synonym: point elasticity

The quality of being elastic.

Adaptability.

Source: Wiktionary


E`las*tic"i*ty, n. Etym: [Cf. F. élasticité.]

1. The quality of being elastic; the inherent property in bodies by which they recover their former figure or dimensions, after the removal of external pressure or altering force; springiness; tendency to rebound; as, the elasticity of caoutchouc; the elasticity of the air.

2. Power of resistance to, or recovery from, depression or overwork. Coefficient of elasticity, the quotient of a stress (of a given kind), by the strain (of a given kind) which it produces; -- called also coefficient of resistance.

– Surface of elasticity (Geom.), the pedal surface of an ellipsoid (see Pedal); a surface used in explaining the phenomena of double refraction and their relation to the elastic force of the luminous ether in crystalline media.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition



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Word of the Day

2 April 2025

COVERT

(adjective) secret or hidden; not openly practiced or engaged in or shown or avowed; “covert actions by the CIA”; “covert funding for the rebels”


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Coffee Trivia

According to Guinness World Records, the largest collection of coffee pots belongs to Robert Dahl (Germany) and consists of 27,390 coffee pots as of 2 November 2012, in Rövershagen, Germany.

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