Flex and Flux
Ned from Lake Ann asked
about the difference between flex and flux. The first difference is origin:
flex came from a Latin word that meant to bend, while flux came from a Latin
word that meant to flow.
The second difference is
meaning. Flux has been used in the following senses:
·
an excessive
discharge from the bowels or other organs;
·
a running from
the eyes or mouth;
·
the flowing of
the tide or of a stream;
·
a continuous
stream of people;
·
a copious flood
of talk;
·
continuous
changes of condition or substance;
·
the rate of
flow of any fluid across a given area;
·
the number of
lines of magnetic induction or electric displacement;
·
any substance
mixed with a metal to facilitate its fusion.
Flex has one major meaning
-- to bend a joint. However, the –flex–
root shows up in a couple hundred of words, including
·
anteflexion:
the condition of being bent forwards;
·
chemoreflex: a
reflex response to a chemical stimulus;
·
circumflex: a curved accent mark to indicate vowel
quality;
·
contraflexure:
the condition of being bent or curved in opposite directions;
·
dorsiflex: to
bend the foot towards its dorsal surface;
·
flexibility:
pliancy;
·
flexion: the
act of bending;
·
genuflexion:
bending of the knee;
·
reflex:
automatic reaction.
Apropos of nothing, I note
that all five vowels can be inserted into those same consonants: flax, flex,
flix, flux, and the misspelling flox. Flix, aside from being slang for motion
pictures, is an old term for the down of a beaver.
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