From 'relative' + theLatinabstract-noun suffix '-ity.' 'Relative' comes from Late Latin 'relativus' (having reference to, related, relational), from Latin 'relatus,' past participle of 'referre' (to carry back, to refer, to report), composed of 're-' (back, again) and 'latus' (past participle of 'ferre,' to carry, to bear). 'Ferre' traces to PIE *bher- (to carry, to bear, to give birth), one of the most productive roots in the Indo-European family, also yielding Old
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Einstein himself wasnot entirely happy with thename 'relativity theory.' He preferred 'Invariantentheorie' ('invariance theory'), because the key insight is not that everything is relative but that the laws of physics are invariant — the same for all observers. The speed of light is absolute, not relative. But
from philosophy to physics in the public imagination after Einstein. Key roots: re- (Latin: "back, again"), ferre / latus (Latin: "to carry, to bear"), *bʰer- (Proto-Indo-European: "to carry, to bear").