| force Pronunciation: 'fOrs, 'fors Function: noun Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin fortia, from Latin fortis strong Date: 14th century 1 a : an agency or influence that if applied to a free body results chiefly in an acceleration of the body and sometimes in elastic deformation and other effects b : any of the natural influences (as electromagnetism, gravity, the strong force, and the weak force) that exist especially between particles and determine the structure of the universe |