Lemizh / English dictionary
782 lemmata in dictionary – view complete dictionary on one page (slow!) – multilingual dictionary
blàp.
to make a momentum unit, a momentum of 53.13 millinewton-seconds (see appendix, Units of measurement)
Etymology
gender change of
< NLem bel‑a, academic loan of
< Koi βέλ‑ος ‘missile, arrow’, levelling of
< SHell *q̌él‑os
< PIE *gʷélh₁‑os, zero-affix noun of
PIE *gʷelh₁‑ ‘hit, throw’
Gender change occurred to avoid homophony with blà. ‘strong’, and also because physicists wanted to be taken seriously.
Cognates
Eng ballistic (via Gk βάλλω ‘throw’) and probably ball (dancing party) (via Gk βαλλίζω ‘dance’)