Abstract
IN reply to the question of Mr. W. M. Williams in the postscript to his letter (NATURE, vol. vii. p. 202) I beg leave to make a few observations. I presume that the author of the above terms thought that the idea of the permeability of a medium by radiant heat could be better expressed by derivatives of the verb θɛρμαívω (I heat) than by those of the more elementary words θέρμos (hot) or θíρμη (heat). To the former of these classes “diathermanous,” “diathermancy” (from θɛρμαvσls), and “diathermacy” (from θɛρμασια), all belong, though they are not very regularly formed, as our English termination “cy” co-responds to the Latin tia, as “clemency” from clementia, or the Greek “τɛια,” as “policy,” from πoλιτίια. “Diathermous” belongs to the latter class.
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L., W. On the Words “Diathermanous,” “Diathermancy,” etc.. Nature 7, 242 (1873). https://doi.org/10.1038/007242d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/007242d0
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