relativity

English

WOTD – 14 March 2021

Etymology

According to Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity (sense 2.1), objects in a gravitational field behave the same way as objects in an enclosure which is accelerating. Thus, an observer who is in a rocket accelerating at 9.8 m/s² (the acceleration due to gravity at the Earth’s surface) (left) will see a ball falling in the same way as it does on Earth (right).

From relative (“connected to or depending on something else”) +‎ -ity (suffix forming nouns from adjectives where the nouns refer to the properties, qualities, or states described by the adjectives). Sense 2.1 (“reliance of the nature of physical phenomena on the relative motion between an observer and the thing observed”) is a translation of German Relativität (“relativity”) used in the works[1] of the German-American theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (1879–1955).[2]

Morphologically relative +‎ -ity

Pronunciation

(Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ɹɛləˈtɪvɪti/
Audio (Southern England) (file)
(General American) IPA^(key): /ˌɹɛləˈtɪvɪti/, [-ɾi]
Rhymes: -ɪvɪti
Hyphenation: re‧la‧tiv‧i‧ty

Noun

relativity (usually uncountable, plural relativities)

(uncountable) The state of being relative to something else; the absence of universally applicable rules or standards; relativism; (countable) an instance of this.
(uncountable, physics) Short for principle of relativity (“the principle that the laws of physics should be the same for all observers”).
1. (specifically) Also Einsteinian relativity: the reliance of the nature of physical phenomena (such as gravity, light, mass, and time) on the relative motion between an observer and the thing observed, as developed by Albert Einstein in two theories, special relativity and general relativity.
(countable, chiefly in the plural) An evaluation of the similarities and differences between things; a comparison; hence, a difference in position or status between things; a disparity.
1. (economics, specifically) The difference in pay or positions between different employees in a business (internal relativity), or between different businesses (external relativity); a differential.

Derived terms

Einsteinian relativity
general relativity
principle of relativity
relativitist
special relativity
theory of relativity

Related terms

relatival
relative
relatively
relativeness
relativisation, relativization
relativised, relativized (adjective)
relativise, relativize
relativiser, relativizer
relativism
relativist
relativistic

Translations

the state of being relative to something else — See also translations at relativism

Armenian: հարաբերականություն (hy) (haraberakanutʿyun)
Belarusian: адно́снасць f (adnósnascʹ)
Catalan: relativitat f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 相對性／相对性 (zh) (xiāngduìxìng), 關聯性／关联性 (zh) (guānliánxìng), 相關性／相关性 (zh) (xiāngguānxìng)
Czech: relativnost f, relativita f
Finnish: suhteellisuus (fi)
French: relativité (fr) f
German: Relativität (de) f
Irish: coibhneasacht f
Japanese: 相対性 (そうたいせい, sōtaisei), 相対 (ja) (そうたい, sōtai)
Norwegian: relativitet
Polish: względność (pl) f
Portuguese: relatividade (pt) f
Romanian: relativitate (ro) f
Russian: относи́тельность (ru) f (otnosítelʹnostʹ)
Serbo-Croatian:
Cyrillic: релативност
Roman: relativnost (sh) f
Spanish: relatividad (es) f
Swedish: relativitet (sv) c
Tagalog: katugnayan
Ukrainian: відно́сність f (vidnósnistʹ)
Welsh: perthnasedd m

principle that the laws of physics should be the same for all observers

Armenian: հարաբերականություն (hy) (haraberakanutʿyun)
Bulgarian: относителност (bg) f (otnositelnost)
Catalan: relativitat f
Chinese:
Mandarin: 相對論／相对论 (zh) (xiāngduìlùn)
Finnish: suhteellisuus (fi)
French: relativité (fr) f
German: Relativität (de) f
Greek: σχετικότητα (el) f (schetikótita)
Irish: gaolmhaireacht f, coibhneasacht f
Latin: relātīvitās f
Polish: względność (pl) f
Portuguese: relatividade (pt) f
Romanian: relativitate (ro) f
Russian: относи́тельность (ru) f (otnosítelʹnostʹ)
Spanish: relatividad (es) f
Tagalog: katugnayan
Ukrainian: відно́сність f (vidnósnistʹ)
Welsh: perthnasedd m

reliance of the nature of physical phenomena on the relative motion between an observer and the thing observed, as developed by Albert Einstein in two theories

Irish: coibhneasacht f

evaluation of the similarities and differences between things — see comparison

difference in position or status between things — see disparity

difference in pay or positions between different employees in a business, or between different businesses — See also translations at differential

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

Arabic: ^{(please verify)} نِسْبِيَّة‎ f (nisbiyya)
Dutch: ^{(please verify)} relativiteit (nl)
Hungarian: ^{(please verify)} viszonylagosság, ^{(please verify)} relativitás (hu)
Kurdish:
Northern Kurdish: ^{(please verify)} rêjeyîtî (ku) f, ^{(please verify)} îzafiyet (ku) f, ^{(please verify)} realtîvîte (ku) f, ^{(please verify)} roletîvîzm (ku) f, ^{(please verify)} dîmanetî (ku) f, ^{(please verify)} dîmaneyîparêzî (ku) f
Slovene: ^{(please verify)} relativnost (sl) f
Thai: ^{(please verify)} ความสัมพันธ์ (th) (kwaam sămpan)
Urdu: ^{(please verify)} اضافیت‎ f (izaafiat)

References

For example, A[lbert] Einstein (30 June 1905), “Zur Elektrodynamik bewegter Körper [On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies]”, in Paul Drude, editor, Annalen der Physik [Annals of Physics], volume 17 (4th Series; volume 322 overall), issue 10, Leipzig: Johann Ambrosius Barth, DOI:10.1002/andp.19053221004, ISSN 0003-3804, OCLC 714101863, pages 891–921; A[lbert] Einstein (20 March 1916), “Die Grundlage der allgemeinen Relativitätstheorie [The Foundation of the Generalized Theory of Relativity]”, in W[ilhelm] Wein and M[ax] Planck, editors, Annalen der Physik, volume 49 (4th Series; volume 354 overall), issue 7, Leipzig: Johann Ambrosius Barth, DOI:10.1002/andp.19163540702, ISSN 0003-3804, OCLC 714101863, pages 769–822.
“relativity, n.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford, Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press, December 2009; “relativity, n.”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.