Meanings
- A statement of the fundamental classical laws of motion, generalizing the principle of virtual work from static to dynamical systems by introducing forces of inertia which, when added to the applied forces in a system, result in dynamic equilibrium.
Synonyms: Lagrange-d'Alembert principle
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA statement of the fundamental classical laws of motion, generalizing the principle of virtual work from static to dynamical systems by introducing forces of inertia which, when added to the applied forces in a system, result in dynamic equilibrium.
Origin
Named after its discoverer, the French physicist and mathematician Jean le Rond d'Alembert.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
d'Alembert's principle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/d'Alembert's%20principle
“d'Alembert's principle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/d'Alembert's%20principle. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “d'Alembert's principle,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/d'Alembert's%20principle.
Source: d'Alembert's principle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.