Coined by Newton from Latin centrum 'center' + fugere 'to flee' in the 1687 Principia Mathematica.
Moving or tending to move away from a center of rotation.
Coined by Isaac Newton in his Principia Mathematica (1687) from Latin centrum 'center' + fugere 'to flee.' Newton needed a word to describe the outward-seeming force in circular motion, complementing centripetal (center-seeking) which he also coined. Key roots: *kent- (Proto-Indo-European: "to prick, sting (hence point, center)"), *bʰewg- (Proto-Indo-European: "to flee").