DictionaryRoot: -ics
English
-ics
a field of study or organized activity
Forms
- -ics
Origin
Developed from descriptions in -ic treated as names for a collection of matters or practices, under Greek and Latin influence.
Note
A name ending in -ics can refer to one field even though its ending resembles a plural.
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noun
eugenics
yoo-JEN-iks/juːˈdʒenɪks/
The discredited practice of controlling human reproduction to promote supposedly desirable inherited traits.
Etymology
The pieces express the idea of being “well-born” or “of good stock.” That language framed selective human breeding as improvement—the premise of the discredited practice.