Drag to pan · scroll to zoom
Drag to rotate
Tracing “”…
Where does the word "ergonomic" come from? It comes from Greek ergon + nomos, and was adopted directly into English (1950s).
Read the full story
Where does the word "ergonomic" come from? It comes from Greek ergon + nomos, and was adopted directly into English (1950s).
Ergonomic’s story begins in Greek: ergon + nomos meant “laws of work.” 'work' plus 'law'. It reached English by 1950s as ergonomic. The adjective followed the science of 'ergonomics' (1949); ergonomic chairs and keyboards spread with office computers from the 1980s. Today, ergonomic means designed for comfort and efficiency in use.
- Stage 1 · Greek · ancient ergon + nomos "laws of work", 'work' plus 'law'.
- Stage 2 · English · 1950s ergonomic "designed for human use", the adjective followed the science of 'ergonomics' (1949); ergonomic chairs and keyboards spread with office computers from the 1980s.