Word for the day: stress

stress |strɛs|                 *estrés (In Spanish)




DEFINITION
noun [ mass noun ]
1 pressure or tension exerted on a material object: the distribution of stress is uniform across the bar.• the degree of stress measured in units of force per unit area.2 a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances: he's obviously under a lot of stress | [ in combination ] : stress-related illnesses.• [ count noun ] something that causes a state of strain or tension: the stresses and strains of public life.3 particular emphasis or importance: he has started to lay greater stress on the government's role in industry.• emphasis given to a particular syllable or word in speech, typically through a combination ofrelatively greater loudness, higher pitch, and longer duration: normally, the stress falls on the first syllable.

ORIGIN
Middle English (denoting hardship or force exerted on a person for the purpose of compulsion): shortening of distress, or partly from Old French estresse ‘narrowness, oppression’, based on Latin strictus ‘drawn tight’ (see strict) .


STRESS |stresstrɛs|
DEFINITION
noun
a computer programming language designed for use in solving civil engineering structural analysis problems.
ORIGIN acronym from str(uctural) e(ngineering) s(ystems) s(olver) .

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