Etymology

centrifuge

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Today it means: A device in which a mixture of denser and lighter materials (normally dispersed in a liquid) is separated by being spun about a central axis at high speed. Full definition →

French centrifuge ← Latin centrum
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromcentrum“center”
  2. French · borrowed fromcentrifuge
  3. English todaycentrifuge

From French centrifuge, from Latin centrum (“center”) + fugiō (“to flee”). Equivalent to centri- + -fuge.

Words from the same roots

Latincentrum all →

centercentrecentrifugalcentrumcentripetalcentro-centrolineal

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.