Why is c the symbol for the speed of light?

Re:Why is c the symbol for the speed of light? by magnusss on Saturday July 29, 2023 @05:52AM (#36918571)

> The same Latin root is found in more familiar words such as acceleration and even celebrity, a word used when fame comes quickly.

According to the OED, celebrity comes from the Latin “celebritās, [the] state of being busy or crowded, festival, games or other celebration characterized by crowded conditions, reputation, renown, fame, frequency or commonness.”

https://www.oed.com/dictionary/celebrity_n?tab=etymology#991...

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Re:Why is c the symbol for the speed of light? by schoen on Saturday July 29, 2023 @06:50AM (#36918907)

I was going to make the same point!

Wiktionary notes that celer and celeber could be related but are likely not. (I'm not sure whether there's more recent debate on this point.)

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/celeber#Latin

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Re:Why is c the symbol for the speed of light? by guerrilla on Saturday July 29, 2023 @09:03AM (#36919891)

Which in turn may come from the same root.

> From Proto-Italic kelizris, perhaps root cognate with clueo, from Proto-Indo-European ḱlew-; alternatively (if the rare meaning of "swift, in rapid succession" is to be taken as primary) connected with celer (with Greek κέλλω from a root *kel-). Jackson An Etymological Dictionary of the Latin Language (1828:77).

Four citations given: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/celeber#References

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Re:Why is c the symbol for the speed of light? by bazoom42 on Saturday July 29, 2023 @04:38PM (#36924308)

Yeah, a celebrity is someone who is celebrated. The “quick rise to fame” explanation seem like a folk-etymology.

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