ergn.1
/əːɡ/, U.S. /ərɡ/ Physics.
A unit of work or energy; the amount of work done when a force of one dyne moves its point of application one centimetre in the direction of the force.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > specific quantities or units of energy or work
horsepower1806
foot-pound1847
foot-ton1860
kilogrammetre1866
erg1873
kilerg1873
indicated horsepower1881
metre-ton1881
joule1882
watt-hour1888
manpower1893
horsepower-hour1899
horse1904
1873 Brit. Assoc. Rep. 224 We propose to denote it [the C.G.S. unit of work] by some derivative of the Greek ἔργον. The forms ergon, ergal and erg have been suggested..We propose, for the present, to leave the termination unsettled; and we request that the word ergon or erg be strictly limited to the C.G.S. unit of work, or what is for purposes of measurement, equivalent to this the C.G.S. unit of energy.
1874 Maxwell in Life (1882) 632 Your sum of Vital energy Is not the millionth of an erg.
1875 Garnett Elem. Dynamics (1889) §63 The C.G.S. unit of work is that done by a dyne in working through a centimetre and is called an erg.
Compounds
erg-nine n. the product of an erg multiplied by 109.
ΚΠ
1873 Brit. Assoc. Rep. 224 One horse-power is equal to three quarters of an erg-ten per second. More nearly, it is 7·46 erg-nines per second.
erg-ten n. the product of an erg multiplied by 1010.
ΚΠ
1873 [see erg-nine n.].
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
ergn.2
/əːɡ/, U.S. /ərɡ/ A type of desert area in the Sahara consisting of shifting sand dunes. Fromentin's book appeared in serial form in the Revue de Paris 1854.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > landscape > wild or uncultivated land > [noun] > barren land or desert > specific
Sahara1613
sertão1816
mallee1851
hammada1853
erg1875
1875 Encycl. Brit. I. 250/1 The most truly desert region of the Sahara is an irregular belt of shifting sand dunes, the ‘Erg’ or ‘Areg’.
1937 S. W. Wooldridge & R. S. Morgan Physical Basis Geogr. xx. 301 The sand areas of the Old World deserts (‘Erg’ of the Sahara, ‘Koum’ of Asia).
1937 S. W. Wooldridge & R. S. Morgan Physical Basis Geogr. xx. 319 It was at a later date..that the red Kalahari sands extended widely in South Africa. They appear to represent an ‘erg phase’.
1943 Algeria (Naval Intelligence Div.) I. ii. 27 The sand-dune areas are called ergs.
1943 Algeria (Naval Intelligence Div.) I. v. 155 Two fairly distinct types [of sand desert] can be distinguished: the nebkas or small areas of sand,..and the erg (pl. areg) or large dune system... The erg consists of drinn steppe with a drought-resisting grass as the dominant species.
1950 G. Brenan Face of Spain ix. 195 He..had spent his life among the sand ergs and ashab pastures of the Sahara.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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