Sync Means Sharing the Same Time
Sync is short for synchronisation. The Greek root means together in time.
Sync is short for *synchronisation*, the state of things happening at the same time. Greek *syn* means together and *khronos* means time, so synchronised things literally share a clock. It is a genuine physical phenomenon as well as a technical one: pendulum clocks on the same wall gradually fall into step through tiny vibrations, an effect Christiaan Huygens noticed in 1665 and called an odd sympathy. The same *khronos* gives *chronic*, *chronicle* and *anachronism*.
- Simultaneity. *In sync.*
- To synchronise. *Syncing files.*
- Out of sync. *Out of sync.*
- Synchronous. *Synchronous.*
- Greek — *syn khronos*, together in time. *The root.*
Word forms
| Form | Word | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | sync | Sync. |
| Verb | sync | Syncing. |
| Full form | synchronise | To synchronise. |
| Adjective | synchronous | Synchronous. |
| Greek | khronos | Time. |
- The files are in sync.Computing.
- The sound was out of sync.Video.
- Khronos means time.Etymology.
Spontaneous synchronisation
- Huygens noticed two clocks on one beam falling into step in 1665
- Fireflies in parts of Asia flash in unison
- Metronomes on a moving platform synchronise within minutes
- Heart pacemaker cells fire together by the same principle
- A weak coupling between oscillators is all it takes
Shortened from *synchronisation*, from Greek *syn*, together, and *khronos*, time.
What does synchronise literally mean?
To share the same time, from Greek syn, together, and khronos, time.
Do clocks really synchronise on their own?
Yes. Huygens observed it in 1665; tiny vibrations through a shared support pull pendulums into step.