Elasticity

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Elasticity \E`las*tic"i*ty\ ([=e]`l[a^]s*t[i^]s"[i^]*t[y^]), n.
     [Cf. F. ['e]lasticit['e].]
     1. The quality of being elastic; the inherent property in
        bodies by which they recover their former figure or
        dimensions, after the removal of external pressure or
        altering force; springiness; resilience; tendency to


        rebound; as, the elasticity of caoutchouc; the elasticity
        of the air.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Power of resistance to, or recovery from, depression or
        overwork; -- usually referred to as {resilience}[3].
        [1913 Webster]
  
     {Coefficient of elasticity}, the quotient of a stress (of a
        given kind), by the strain (of a given kind) which it
        produces; -- called also {coefficient of resistance}.
  
     {Surface of elasticity} (Geom.), the pedal surface of an
        ellipsoid (see {Pedal}); a surface used in explaining the
        phenomena of double refraction and their relation to the
        elastic force of the luminous ether in crystalline media.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  elasticity
       n : the tendency of a body to return to its original shape after
           it has been stretched or compressed; "the waistband had
           lost its snap" [syn: {snap}] [ant: {inelasticity}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  63 Moby Thesaurus words for "elasticity":
     adaptability, adjustability, agreeability, amenability, beef,
     beefiness, bendability, brawn, brawniness, ductibility, ductility,
     extendibility, extensibility, facility, fictility, flexibility,
     flexility, flexuousness, formativeness, give, heftiness, huskiness,
     impressionability, involuntary muscle, limberness, litheness,
     malleability, moldability, muscle, muscularity, musculature,
     physique, plasticity, pliability, pliancy, receptiveness,
     resilience, responsiveness, rubberiness, sensibility,
     sensitiveness, sequacity, sinew, sinewiness, sinews, springiness,
     stretch, stretchability, stretchiness, submissiveness, suppleness,
     susceptibility, tensileness, tensility, thew, thewiness, thews,
     tolerance, tone, tractability, tractility, voluntary muscle,
     willowiness