Force
Etymology
From Latin "fortis" (strong), through Vulgar Latin "fortia" (strength). Newton made it technical in the 1680s: force is what changes momentum, equal to mass times acceleration.
noun · /FORS/
A push or pull that changes an object’s motion — speeding it up, slowing it down, or turning it.
What it names
The cause of every change in motion, so that a still or steadily-moving object tells you the forces on it cancel out.
Example
No force is needed to keep the puck gliding — only to start it, stop it, or curve it.
Related idea
A force is a push or pull; energy is the capacity to do work. You can push all day against a wall (force) and transfer no energy, because nothing moves.
verb · /FORS/
To make someone act against their will, or to move something open by sheer strength.
What it names
compulsion, or breaking through resistance.
Example
They forced the door open.
Related idea
The coercion here is close kin to pressure applied to a person.
noun · /FORS/
An organized body of people, especially a military or police one.
What it names
the armed forces, a police force, a workforce.
Example
The peacekeeping force arrived at dawn.
Related idea
A group defined by its collective power to act.