Who coined the term speed? - ProProfs Discuss
Advertisement

Who coined the term speed?

Asked by J. Lautner, Last updated: Apr 17, 2024

+ Answer
Request
Question menu
Vote up Vote down

2 Answers

J. Harty

J. Harty

Have keen interest in writing, traveller by heart.

J. Harty
J. Harty, Writer, M.A, Chula Vista

Answered Sep 26, 2019

Although Galileo Galilei was the first person to determine the speed of an object clearly, however, there are objections that the word 'speed' had been coined even before Galileo Galilei started anything on the concept of speed. Many people think Aristotle had previously made use of the word 'speed' when he was writing about the laws of motion. To me, I think Galileo Galilei deserves the title.

He was actually the first person to measure speed. He was able to achieve this by considering the distance and the time taken by an object to move from one point to another. He calculated the speed using the formula; speed= distance/time. This shows the speed of a moving object is dependent on the time. Let's assume an object covered a distance of 20 meters in 4 seconds. Going by the formula given, the speed of the total is 5m/s. Meters per second is the unit for speed.

upvote downvote
Reply 

W. Mocroft

W. Mocroft

Love to do some charity work. Have a passion for writing and do it in my spare time

W. Mocroft
W. Mocroft, Philanthropist, Master Degree in International Business, Las Vegas

Answered Feb 20, 2019

This is somewhat tricky to nail down. While Galileo is credited with being the first to mathematically define speed, he was not the one to actually coin the term speed. However, back in 375 BC, Eudoxus wrote a book about speeds, and so it is to him that the credit must go. There is a caveat to this - speed was already a defined term - Eudoxus was the first to actually write it down.

This is somewhat tricky to nail down. While Galileo is credited with being the first to

The ancients were well versed in speed and the many benefits of it. The Egyptian, Babylonian, and Akkadian nations were far advanced in math and sciences, and we are still discovering new information to show just how advanced they were and what they actually knew. With the burning of the library of Alexandria, important documents were lost to the world forever, much to our discredit.

This is somewhat tricky to nail down. While Galileo is credited with being the first to

Speed would have been used to calculate movements for armies, shipment time frames, camel trains, and so much more. Speed was not a new term, nor was it a new concept. It may have been called different names over the millennia.

upvote downvote
Reply 

Advertisement
Advertisement
Search for Google images Google Image Icon
Select a recommended image
Upload from your computer Loader
Image Preview
Search for Google images Google Image Icon
Select a recommended image
Upload from your computer Loader
Image Preview
Search for Google images Google Image Icon
Select a recommended image
Upload from your computer Loader

Email Sent
We have sent an email to your address "" with instructions to reset your password.