I. ˈenə(r)jē, -ji noun
( -es )
Etymology: Late Latin energia, from Greek energeia activity, operation, from energos active, effective, from en in + ergon work — more at in , work
1. of language or style : imaginative or affective force : vitality
2. : the capacity of acting, operating, or producing an effect : inherent power
an individual of great intellectual energy
he expended his energies in useless tasks
3. : power efficiently and forcefully exerted : vigorous or effectual operation : vigorousness
the energy and success of an argument
4.
a. : the realized state of potentialities as opposed to their unrealized state — compare entelechy
b.
(1) : activity ; especially : psychical activity
(2) : the product of activity : effect
5. : an entity rated as the most fundamental of all physical concepts and usually regarded as the equivalent of or the capacity for doing work either being associated with material bodies (as a coiled spring or speeding train) or having an existence independent of matter (as light or X rays traversing a vacuum), its physical dimensions being the same as those of work ML 2 ÷T 2 where M is mass, L length, and T time, usually being expressed in work units (as foot-pounds or ergs), and in any form being endowed with the properties of mass (as inertia, momentum, gravitation) by relativity which assigns to the energy E an equivalent mass m by the equation m=E÷c 2 where c is the speed of light — see conservation of energy , kinetic energy , potential energy
6. : muzzle energy
Synonyms: see power
II. noun
: usable power ; also : the resources for producing such power