pneumatics

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   the branch of mechanics concerned with gases and their use to transmit force, especially through compressed air

   The factory uses pneumatics to operate its clamps and lifting arms.

2. 2
   noun

   historical: the branch of philosophy concerned with spirits, the soul, and other nonmaterial beings

   In the old curriculum, pneumatics was taught in opposition to the study of physical bodies.

From pneumatic + -s, ultimately from Greek pneuma ('breath, wind, spirit'). That double meaning produced both the modern science of air and the historical philosophical study of spirits.

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