Magnet

See also: magnet and magnet-

German

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin magnēs (“lodestone”), from Ancient Greek μαγνῆτις [λίθος] (magnêtis [líthos], “Magnesian [stone]”), either after the Lydian city Magnesia ad Sipylum (modern-day Manisa, Turkey), or after the Greek region of Μαγνησία (Magnēsía) (whence came the colonist who founded the city in Lydia).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /maˈɡneːt/
- Audio (file)
IPA^(key): /makˈneːt/, /maŋˈneːt/ (less common)
Hyphenation: Ma‧g‧net

Noun

(spoken or written) Magnet m (strong or weak, genitive (spoken or written) Magnetes or Magnets or (mostly only when written) Magneten, plural (spoken or written) Magnete or (mostly only when written) Magneten)

magnet

Usage notes

The word may be declined according to the strong or the weak pattern. In the written language, both are common; in the regular spoken language, however, the strong declension is predominant.

Declension

Declension of Magnet [masculine, strong // weak]

	singular			plural
	indef.	def.	noun	def.	noun
nominative	ein	der	Magnet¹	die	Magnete¹, Magneten²
genitive	eines	des	Magnetes¹, Magnets¹, Magneten²	der	Magnete¹, Magneten²
dative	einem	dem	Magnet¹, Magnete^1,3, Magneten²	den	Magneten¹
accusative	einen	den	Magnet¹, Magneten²	die	Magnete¹, Magneten²

¹Spoken or written.
²Mostly only when written.
³Now uncommon, see notes.

Derived terms

Descendants

→ Romanian: magnet
→ Yiddish: מאַגנעט‎ (magnet)