rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryRoot: en-
Greek

en-

in, within

Forms

  • en-
  • em- — Used before b, m, or p in Greek compounds.
  • el- — Used before l in Greek compounds.

Origin

Reconstructed Proto-Indo-European *en, ‘in.’

Note

Related to Latin in-, but borrowed through a separate Greek route.

15 / 17
noun

entropy

EN-truh-pee/ˈentrəpi/

A measure of the dispersal of energy within a physical system.

The system’s entropy increases as heat spreads from the hot block to the cold block.

Two touching blocks in an insulated box exchange heat, changing from 80 and 20 degrees Celsius to 50 degrees each.
Etymology
enGreekin, within
+tropyGreekturning or change

The 'in' and 'turning' pieces underlie Greek 'a turning toward.' The intended idea is thought to have been 'transformation contents,' used in naming a measure of disorder in a system.

In context

TED-Ed2:17
In physics, this is described by the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which says that systems will gain disorder, or entropy, over time.
Does time exist? - Andrew Zimmerman Jones

More examples

  • Melting ice absorbs heat and gains entropy.
  • The gas gains entropy as it expands freely into a vacuum.
  • The total entropy of an isolated system never decreases.

Forms

entropy · entropies

entropic adjective — Relating to entropy in a physical system.