physical

Meanings

1. 1
   adj

   concerned with material things

   physical properties

2. 2
   adj

   characterized by energetic bodily activity

   a very physical dance performance

3. 3
   adj

   according with material things or natural laws (other than those peculiar to living matter)

   a reflex response to physical stimuli

4. 4
   adj

   involving the body as distinguished from the mind or spirit

   physical exercise

5. 5
   adj

   Of matter and nature.

   Labour, then, in the physical world, is […] employed in putting objects in motion.

6. 6
   adj

   Of the human body.

   Insults can hurt a lot more than physical injuries.

7. 7
   adj

   Of a piece of media, existing as a tangible object instead of being digital.

   There is just something so amazing about reading a physical book as compared to an e-book.

8. 8
   noun

   A physical examination.

   How long has it been since your last physical?

Etymology

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”).