Physical Meaning
/ˈfɪzɪkəl/Definition, CEFR level A2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
adjOf medicine.
adjOf medicine., Pertaining to the field of medicine; medical.
Sentence Examples
Scientists deal mainly with physical matters.
The emigrants have endured physical and mental pain.
There were few similarities in the brothers' physical characteristics.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The doctor recommended ____ exercise to improve his heart health and fitness.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The doctor recommended regular ____ exercise to improve the patient's cardiovascular health.
Word Origin & History
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”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"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."
— 1788, Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary: A Fiction:
"Is Brutus sick? and is it physical / To walk unbraced, and suck up the humours / Of the dank morning?"
— 1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Iulius Cæsar”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]:
"Labour, then, in the physical world, is […] employed in putting objects in motion."
— 1848, John Stuart Mill, Principles of Political Economy: With Some of Their Applications to Social Philosophy. […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: John W[illiam] Parker, […], →OCLC:
"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."
— 2013 May 25, “No hiding place”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8837, archived from the original on 08 Mar 2023, page 74:
"Some of the most beautiful and thus appealing physical theories, including quantum electrodynamics and quantum gravity, have been dogged for decades by infinities that erupt when theorists try to prod their calculations into new domains."
— 2012 January 26, Michael Riordan, “Tackling Infinity”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 30 Apr 2013, page 86:
Explore More A2 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The doctor recommended ____ exercise to improve his heart health and fitness.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The doctor recommended regular ____ exercise to improve the patient's cardiovascular health.