eureka

See also: Eureka and eurêka

English

Etymology

From Ancient Greek εὕρηκα (heúrēka, I have found), perfect active indicative first singular of εὑρίσκω (heurískō, to find). Archimedes supposedly exclaimed this when he figured out how to determine the density of an object. First use appears c. 1603 in a text by Philemon Holland.

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /jəˈɹiː.kə/
    • (file)
  • (US) IPA(key): /jʊˈɹiː.kə/
  • Rhymes: -iːkə

Interjection

eureka!

  1. An exclamation indicating a sudden discovery.
    • 1821, Byron, Don Juan:
      Eureka! I have found it! What I mean / To say is, not that love is idleness, / But that in love such idleness has been / An accessory, as I have cause to guess.
    • 1912, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Lost World [], London, New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
      "Eureka!" he cried, his teeth shining through his beard. "Gentlemen, you may congratulate me and we may congratulate each other. The problem is solved."
    • 1970, Peter Porter, The Sanitized Sonnets, The Last of England:
      A page is turned - eureka, a snatch of tune / is playing itself, the piss-proud syllables / are unveiling a difficult prosody.

Derived terms

Translations

Noun

eureka (uncountable)

  1. Synonym of constantan (copper-nickel alloy)

See also

Dutch

Alternative forms

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek εὕρηκα (heúrēka, I have found), perfect active indicative 1st singular of εὑρίσκω (heurískō, I find).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˌœy̯ˈreːkaː/, /øːˈreːkaː/
  • (file)
  • Hyphenation: eu‧re‧ka

Interjection

eureka

  1. eureka

Italian

Etymology

Borrowed from Ancient Greek εὕρηκᾰ (heúrēka).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈɛw.re.ka/
  • Rhymes: -ɛwreka
  • Hyphenation: èu‧re‧ka

Interjection

eureka

  1. eureka

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /euˈɾeka/ [eu̯ˈɾe.ka]
  • Rhymes: -eka
  • Syllabification: eu‧re‧ka

Interjection

eureka

  1. eureka

Further reading

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