magnet

Meaning

Noun

• A piece of material that attracts some metals by magnetism.
• A person or thing that attracts what is denoted by the preceding noun.

Origin

• From Middle English magnete, via Old French magnete, Latin magnēs, from Ancient Greek, either after the Lydian city Magnesia ad Sipylum (modern-day Manisa, Turkey), or after the Greek region of Μαγνησία (whence came the colonist who founded the city in Lydia). Related to manganese, magnesia and magnesium.