-ics
a suffix of nouns that denote a body of facts, knowledge, principles, etc., usually corresponding to adjectives ending in -ic, or -ical: ethics; physics; politics; tactics .
usage note
-ics
suffix (functioning as sing)
indicating a science, art, or matters relating to a particular subject aeronautics, politics
indicating certain activities or practices acrobatics
word origin
-ics
in the names of sciences or disciplines (acoustics, aerobics, economics, etc.) it represents a 16c. revival of the cl-ssical custom of using the neuter plural of adjectives with -ikos (see -ic) to mean “matters relevant to” and also as the t-tles of treatises about them. subject matters that acquired their names in english before c.1500, however, tend to remain in singular (e.g. arithmetic, logic).
-ics suff.
science; art; study; knowledge; skill: pharmaceutics.
actions, activities, or practices of: macrobiotics.
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