physicsphysics

Physics comes from physic (ME phisik, from Old French fisike), from Latin physica, from Greek φυσική, from φύσις ‘nature’, ultimately PIE *bʰuH-.

1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*bʰuH-¹‘to become, grow’reconstructed
2. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφύω¹phúō‘to produce, grow’
3. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφύσις¹phúsis‘nature’
4. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφυσικός¹phusikós‘natural’
5. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEφυσική¹phusikḗfeminine singular of φυσικός
6. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEphysica¹‘study of nature’
7. Old Frenchc. 842–1400fisike¹‘natural science’
8. Middle Englishc. 1150–1500phisik¹
9. English1500–presentphysic¹
10. Englishearliest quotation 1994physics¹

1. ¹ Wiktionary, English physics
2. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 1994, A.J Meadows, M.M Hancock-Beaulieu: “An analysis of media reports can correspondingly cast some…”.