/
məˈmɛntəm/
n.
(pl. momenta
/-tə/
)
- the impetus gained by a moving object.
▸the driving force gained by the development of a process:
the investigation gathered momentum.
- Physics the quantity of motion of a moving body, equal to the product of its mass and velocity.
Etymology
C17: from L., from movimentum, from movere ‘to move’.