relativity
noun/ɹɛl.əˈtɪv.ɪ.ti/ · [-ɾi]
Etymology 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 of the German-American theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (1879–1955). Morphologically relative + -ity.
Usually The state of being relative to something else; the absence of universally applicable rules or standards; relativism; (countable) an instance of this.
Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics Abbreviation, Ellipsis, Usually Ellipsis of principle of relativity (“the principle that the laws of physics should be the same for all observers”).
Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics Specifically, Usually 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.
In plural, Usually An evaluation of the similarities and differences between things; a comparison; hence, a difference in position or status between things; a disparity.
Economics, Sciences In plural, Specifically, Usually The difference in pay or positions between different employees in a business (internal relativity), or between different businesses (external relativity); a differential.
- Derived terms
- aliorelativity, Einsteinian relativity, Galilean relativity, general relativity, principle of relativity, relativitist, special relativity, theory of relativity
- Related terms
- relatival, relative, relatively, relativeness, relativisation, relativization, relativised, relativized, relativise, relativize, relativiser, relativizer, relativism, relativist, relativistic