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Where does the word "fulcrum" come from? It comes from Latin fulcrum, and was adopted directly into English (1670s).
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Where does the word "fulcrum" come from? It comes from Latin fulcrum, and was adopted directly into English (1670s).
Fulcrum’s story begins in Latin: fulcrum meant “bedpost, prop.” A bedpost, from 'fulcīre', to prop up. It reached English by 1670s as fulcrum. Taken into mechanics for the pivot of a lever. Today, fulcrum means the point on which a lever turns.
- Stage 1 · Latin · ancient fulcrum "bedpost, prop", a bedpost, from 'fulcīre', to prop up.
- Stage 2 · English · 1670s fulcrum "pivot", taken into mechanics for the pivot of a lever.