Everyday English Language from Engineering

Have you ever considered why sales and marketing people talk about a ‘sales pipeline’? You may have heard of a ‘sales funnel’ or, to extend the concept, a ‘leaky sales pipeline’. Similarly, whilst a ‘barometer’ is an instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure, more generally it may mean something that reflects a change in opinions or circumstances. A ‘litmus test’ is not just a test for acids and alkalis, it is also a test of true character or categorisation. These are not literally pipelines, instruments or tests - they are metaphors.

It is surprising how often in everyday English language you hear scientific and engineering terms used, not just for their literal meaning but as a figure of speech. Many are used with their correct meaning, such as ‘frequency’ and ‘acceleration’; others have a looser association, such as a ‘wave’ of excitement and a ‘fluid’ situation. These words can describe a wide range of situations, people, emotions, ideas and even politics. Understanding the meaning of an engineering term can help with understanding the everyday expression.

There are many examples from mechanics: the ‘force’ of an argument, a driving ‘force’, the ‘weight’ of responsibility, a heavy work ‘load’, an idea gaining ‘traction’, ‘leverage’ an advantage, having ‘friction’ in the team and to ‘gear up’ for something. Examples with situations or ideas are a campaign gaining ‘momentum’, someone’s ‘inertia’, and a message that can ‘resonate’ with people. Other engineering examples include the ‘balance’ of ‘power’, working in a ‘vacuum’, ‘laser’ sharp focus, ‘robotic’ behaviour, and looking at something from a different ‘angle’ or with a new ‘perspective’.

Consider the Beach Boys’ song ‘Good Vibrations’ - the expression ‘good vibes’ is a positive feeling about something. How about a party where there is no ‘atmosphere’? The word ‘fuel’ means a material like oil, or something that inflames emotion, such as ‘fuel’ an argument. People may describe their physical state with phrases such as: they have no ‘energy’, he was ‘frozen’ to the spot, she has run out of ‘steam’, he needs to let off ‘steam’, or they simply need to ‘unwind’.

It is also interesting to see how the meaning of words develops over time. The origin of the word ‘articulate’ comes from the idea of separation into joints. It is widely used for speech: to articulate means to speak fluently and coherently. Engineering now uses the word for ‘articulated’ lorry and ‘articulated’ joint – separate sections with flexible joints. Other English words that have a specific meaning in mechanical engineering include ‘excite’ (a form of vibration), ‘stall’ and ‘surge’ (both used for gas turbines).

Other words are the opposite. A ‘screw’ is a cylinder or cone with a thread used to assemble parts. It has gradually developed a number of colloquial uses, including as a prison guard, an insult and cheating. It can also mean wise or sensible, with expressions such as ‘he has his head screwed on right’, contrasted with ‘he has a screw loose’, meaning confused or muddled. According to one source, the slang ‘screwed up’ derives from the figurative tightening of screws on a musical instrument to a high pitch. Similarly, a ‘crank’ is part of a rotating mechanism, such as a bent handle, and can also mean an eccentric person.

Engineering has taken words from the English language and given them new meanings. The English language has also developed engineering words into other situations and continues to borrow words from engineering to describe things in everyday life.

If you are an engineer and interested in learning more about mechanical engineering, check out our Mechanical Engineering for Non-Mechanical Engineers course (https://www.meirc.com/training-courses/engineering-instrumentation/mechanical-engineering-for-nonmechanical-engineers). This provides an introduction to the core subject areas of mechanical engineering.