Eureka, int. (n.)
(jʊəˈriːkə)
[Gr. εὕρηκα, 1st pers. sing. perf. of εὑρίσκειν to find. The correct spelling heureka is rare.]
1. The exclamation (‘I have found it’) uttered by Archimedes when he discovered the means of determining (by specific gravity) the proportion of base metal in Hiero's golden crown. (See Vitruvius Arch. IX. iii, Plutarch Mor. (Didot) 1338.) Hence allusively, an exulting exclamation at having made a discovery.
| [1570 Dee Math. Pref., For this, may I (with ioy) say ΕυρΗκα.] 1603 Holland Plutarch's Mor. 590 [Archimedes] crying out, Heureca. 1658 tr. Porta's Nat. Mag. xviii. viii. 384 We have gone beyond Archimedes his Eureka. 1742 Fielding J. Andrews ii. xiii. (ed. 2) 267 Adams..returned overjoyed..crying out ‘Eureka’ [ed. 1 (1742) Ευρηκα; ed. 3 (1743) Heureka.] 1818 Byron Ch. Har. iv. lxxxi, We clap Our hands, and cry ‘Eureka!’ 1862 Burton Bk. Hunter i. 34 A triumphant cry of Eureka! calls me to his place of rest. 1877 Farrar My Youth viii. 73 That great Eureka,—‘We have found the Messiah’. |
2. A discovery justifying self-congratulation. Often used attrib. by advertising tradesmen in the names given to special articles of manufacture.
| 1853 Advt. in Athenæum 29 Jan. 151 Eureka shirts. 1854 Badham Halieut. 233 A recent addition to the long list of modern Mediterranean eurekas. |
3. The proprietary name of an alloy of copper and nickel used for electrical filament and resistance wire. Also attrib.
| 1914 Trade Marks Jrnl. 21 Jan. 85 Eureka. Electric Conduits and Union Joints and Fittings therefor... John Birch & Sons..Manufacturers. 1915 Phil. Mag. XXIX. 368 Of the following metals and alloys all..gave a positive emission..platinoid, eureka, tinned copper, and ‘galvanized’ iron. 1930 Engineering 28 Nov. 672/1 Winding, for which 47-gauge Eureka wire is used. 1939 Trade Marks Jrnl. 2 Aug. 1070 Eureka... Uncovered copper-nickel electrical resistance wire. The London Electric Wire Company and Smiths Limited..Manufacturers. 1943 Electronic Engin. XVI. 78 The heater wire is generally made of eureka or a copper nickel alloy. |
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▸ Eureka moment n. (freq. with lower-case initial) an instant in which a scientific discovery is made or a breakthrough occurs; a moment of inspiration; (in extended use) an exciting or significant experience; cf. moment n. 1b.
| [1906 A. H. N. Baron tr. T. Ribot Ess. on Creative Imagination vii. 302 A fixed and besetting idea, trial followed by failure, the decisive moment of Eureka! then the inner revelation manifests itself outwardly.] 1920 G. S. Hall Morale ii. 31 Its [sc. the world's] great achievements..have been the product of exuberant, euphorious, and *eureka moments. 1976 Newsweek (Nexis) 26 Jan. 78 The rarest and most exciting thing in moviegoing is the Eureka moment when an artist breaks through. 2002 Wired Oct. 106/1 Thresher's team spent several years modeling different population-busting scenarios before they had their eureka moment. |