different between relativity vs relevancy

English

Etymology

From relative (“connected to or depending on something else”) +? -ity (suffix forming nouns from adjectives where the nouns refer to the properties, qualities, or states described by the adjectives). Sense 2.1 (“reliance of the nature of physical phenomena on the relative motion between an observer and the thing observed”) is a translation of German Relativität (“relativity”) used in the works of the German-American theoretical physicist Albert Einstein (1879–1955).

Morphologically relative +? -ity

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /??l??t?v?ti/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /???l??t?v?ti/, [-?i]
• Rhymes: -?v?ti
• Hyphenation: re?la?tiv?i?ty

Noun

relativity (usually uncountable, plural relativities)

1. (uncountable) The state of being relative to something else; the absence of universally applicable rules or standards; relativism; (countable) an instance of this.
2. (uncountable, physics) Short for principle of relativity (“the principle that the laws of physics should be the same for all observers”).
   1. (specifically) Also Einsteinian relativity: the reliance of the nature of physical phenomena (such as gravity, light, mass, and time) on the relative motion between an observer and the thing observed, as developed by Albert Einstein in two theories, special relativity and general relativity.
3. (countable, chiefly in the plural) An evaluation of the similarities and differences between things; a comparison; hence, a difference in position or status between things; a disparity.
   1. (economics, specifically) The difference in pay or positions between different employees in a business (internal relativity), or between different businesses (external relativity); a differential.

Derived terms

Related terms

Translations

References

Further reading

• principle of relativity on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• theory of relativity on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• relativity (disambiguation) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

English

Etymology

From relevant +? -ancy.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /???l?v?nsi/
• Hyphenation: rel?e?van?cy

Noun

relevancy (countable and uncountable, plural relevancies)

1. (law, Scotland) Sufficiency (of a statement, claim etc.) to carry weight in law; legal pertinence. [from 16th c.]
2. (uncountable) The degree to which a thing is relevant; relevance, applicability. [from 17th c.]
   • 1842, Edgar Allan Poe, ‘The Myster of Marie Rogêt’:

     It is the malpractice of the courts to confine evidence and discussion to the bounds of apparent relevancy.

3. (countable) A relevant thing. [from 19th c.]

Usage notes

• In contemporary usage relevance is about 20 times more common in the US (COCA) and about 50 times more common in the UK (BNC) than relevancy.

Antonyms

• irrelevancy

Related terms

• relevant
• relevance

Translations

Further reading

• relevancy in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.