electrical, a.
(ɪˈlɛktrɪkəl)
[f. prec. + -al1.]
† 1. = electric A. 1 a. Obs.
| 1635 N. Carpenter Geog. Del. i. iii. 54 Electricall bodies drawe and attract not without rubbing and stirring vp of the matter first. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 86 Bodies electricall, whose emissions are lesse subtile. 1744 Berkeley Siris §243 The phænomena of electrical bodies, the laws and variations of magnetism. |
b. = electric A. 1 b.
| 1813 Sir H. Davy Agric. Chem. ii. (1814) 39 When a piece of sealing wax..gains the power of attracting light bodies..it is said to be electrical. 1813 Bakewell Introd. Geol. (1815) 313 The smoke and vapour of volcanoes are highly electrical. c 1860 Faraday Forces Nat. v. 129 It is so electrical that it will scarcely leave my hand unless to go to the other. |
2. (The usual modern sense.) Relating to or connected with electricity; also, of the nature of electricity. Sometimes used in the combinations mentioned under electric A. 2 b, in most of which, however, electric is more usual; exceptions are electrical machine, electrical eel; electrical engineer, an engineer devoting himself to electrical aspects of engineering; electrical engineering, the work done by, or the profession of, an electrical engineer; electrical precipitation, precipitation of a substance, esp. in a gas, by the action of a uni-directional electric field; cf. electric precipitation; electrical recording (see quot. 1940).
| 1746 W. Watson Sequel to Experiments in Electr. 32 If the electrical machine is placed upon originally-electrics, the man..gives no sign of being electrified. 1747 Wesley Wks. (1872) II. 73, I went..to see..the Electrical experiments. 1747 Franklin Lett. Wks. 1840 V. 182 Draw off the electrical fire. 1748 Ibid. 210 A turkey is to be killed for our dinner by the electrical shock. 1775 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. LXV. i. 102 An Account of the Gymnotus Electricus, or Electrical Eel. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. Cont. 14 No damage, except to a part of the Electrical Strap. 1802 Bingley Anim. Biog. (1813) III. 7 The electrical gymnotus or eel. 1803 Edin. Rev. I. 195 The electrical pile. 1812 Sir H. Davy Chem. Philos. 104 Wires for passing the electrical spark. Ibid. 129 The electrical balance of Coulomb. Ibid. 169 The electrical column, formed of zinc, Dutch leaf, and paper. 1818 M. W. Shelley Frankenst. i. (1865) 42 He constructed a small electrical machine. 1822 J. Imison Sc. & Art I. 463 When many of these..jars are connected together, it is called an electrical battery. 1836 Macgillivray tr. Humboldt's Trav. xv. 196 Electrical eels..abound in the..confluents of the Orinoco. 1842 Brit. Pat. 9465 40 For connecting any number of distant clocks together in the manner of what are called electrical clocks, so that they will all move with an exact uniformity. 1845 Darwin Voy. Nat. iii. (1879) 62 Is it not possible that the mixture of large bodies of fresh and salt water may disturb the electrical equilibrium? 1851 Carpenter Man. Phys. 462 In..Electrical fishes, the electric organs are supplied with nerves of very great size. 1883 (title) The Electrical Engineer, a Journal of Electrical Engineering. Ibid. 1 May 3/1 In view of the larger extension of electrical interests..we have deemed it advisable to alter the title [‘Electric Light’] to ‘The Electrical Engineer’. 1883 Pop. Sci. Monthly XXIV. 255 Electrical engineering..embraces a knowledge of cables, telegraphy, electric lighting, electrical measurement. a 1891 Mod. Are there any electrical books in the library? 1912 Metall. & Chem. Engin. X. 686/2 Electrical precipitation of suspended particles... Review of the processes of condensing dust and fume by means of high-tension electric current. These processes are the invention of Dr. F. G. Cottrell. 1925 ‘His Master's Voice’ Album Ser. No. 3 The Rose Cavalier..Electrical Recording. 1930 Engineering 27 June 833/3 Considerable progressive development could be recorded in the use of electrical precipitation plants. 1935 Discovery Apr. 111/2 This new and valuable testing instrument..put into its hands by the electrical engineer. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 286/1 Electrical recording, the use of amplified currents from microphones for operating electromagnetic or electrodynamic drives for the cutting stylus in wax recording. 1965 M. Morse Unattached i. 18 A large electrical-engineering firm. |
3. fig. Cf. electric 3.
| 1775 Sheridan Rivals ii. i, The atmosphere becomes electrical. 1814 Scott Wav. I. iv. 59 The electrical shock caused by the discovery. 1873 Lowell Among my Bks. Ser. ii. 315 The leaves..seem to thrill our fingers with..the flutter of his electrical nerves. |
† 4. Skilled in the science of electricity. Obs. rare.
| 1757 E. Darwin in Phil. Trans. L. 240 The author, having no electrical friend whose sagacity he could confide in. |
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Add: B. n. pl. 1. Chiefly U.K. Shares in a joint-stock electrical enterprise. Also, companies manufacturing electrical goods.
| 1931 Economist 1 Aug. 229/2 Electricals were dull. 1969 Ibid. 30 Aug. 56/1 Electricals and electronic groups have benefited most from foreign interest. 1976 Liverpool Echo 7 Dec. 18/2 In electricals, Hoover ‘A’ climbed 15 to 180 in response to a broker's circular. 1981 Times 22 Apr. 18/3 Jobbers reported extremely quiet trading in electricals. |
2. Electrical appliances or circuitry.
| 1976 Economist 23 Oct. 92/2 In the first eight months of 1973 Japan's imports of cars, watches and household equipment doubled; domestic electricals and non-durable consumer goods more than doubled. 1986 Sunday Express Mag. 19 Oct. (Advt. Suppl.) 4 House of Fraser brings you a selection of top designer kitchen electricals. 1990 Times 6 Mar. 2/7 The electricals..are housed in a special plastic [casing] behind the dish. |