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MustAsk Posted 13 years ago
Vocabulary

Magnetic vs magnetical

Hello

What's the difference between the two words?

Thanks
  

Top answer

I’ve never come across magnetical before, and the COCA has no citations for it. As far as I can tell, it’s just a much less common synonym for magnetic .

— RandomGuy

  • I’ve never come across magnetical before, and the COCA has no citations for it.
  • As far as I can tell, it’s just a much less common synonym for magnetic .
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3 Answers
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I’ve never come across magnetical before, and the COCA has no citations for it. As far as I can tell, it’s just a much less common synonym for magnetic.
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Hi

Merriam-Webster has it as "archaic" and I think that is right: it is an old word (meaning much the same thing) that is no longer used ...

- "I cannot indeed discover that any magnetical effect has been produced by hammering, beyond that of occasioning a deviation in the compass needle ..."
[William Scoresby, communicated to the Royal Society by Humphry Davy, 1822]
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Hi

Actually, to be picky, I've just noticed that Scoresby implies the phrase "magnetic iron" in his previous sentence. So there probably was a difference originally, perhaps like:

- He did a few magic tricks. The effect on the audience was magical

(but no one would make such a difference with "magnetic" nowadays)

Dave
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