Tricky Words in this week‘s OVI

Energy. I dealt with energy and power more than two years ago, hoping to clarify the difference between them using SI units from physics. I think I got them right, which might have helped the scientists among our readers, but I probably only succeeded in frightening the others. Now I'm going to revert to the original “tricky words” approach, which says that if the Slovak form of a Latin word looks like the English, the meaning is probably different. I'd say this is often the case with energia, and it's absolutely necessary to check the context, because if it refers to electricity, then the English translation should be power. So if energetika refers to electricity, then I'd translate it as power generation, and DZ Energetika is the Power Division. Energy can be gained from electricity, gas, oil, coal and food.

Andy’s Wordshop

Here are the examples I proposed two years ago, and I think they still apply. I associate energy with heat, power with electricity, force with weight and strength with intensity. The steelworks energy management system also covers power generation and consumption. The strength of steel sheet depends on its thickness and composition, but also on temperature, which all affect the amount of force need to shape it. Moving away from the technical to the human context, I think businesspeople need to have a lot of energy to be successful. Are politicians more interested in gaining power or money? When the police use force to break up a demonstration, they use violence. Weightlifting is a good way of increasing your muscle strength.