Mach
/mɑːk/ proper noun, noun
Forms Machs
- proper noun A surname from Czech.
- proper noun Ernst Mach, Austrian physicist (1838–1916), born in Moravia (now Czech Republic).
- noun (physics, uncountable) A ratio of the speed (of an object, etc.) to the speed of sound in the fluid or other medium through which the object travels. Usually used to describe supersonic speeds; always precedes the Mach number. “The jet traveled at Mach 3.”
Synonyms
Etymology
* As a Polish, Czech, Slovak, Ukrainian, and Lower Sorbian surname, from pet forms produced by truncation of personal names beginning with Ma- such as Matej, Martin, or Maciej, and the addition of the Slavic suffix -ch.
* As a Jewish surname, from German Mache (“work”).
* Less commonly, a respelling of Hungarian Mács, a pet form of names corresponding to Matthew.
* In some cases, from Vietnamese (Mạch, itself from the Chinese name 麥 /麦) or Cambodian, from Khmer ម៉ាច (maac).
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “Mach”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details