centripetal

From New Latin centripetālis coined by Sir Isaac Newton, from Latin centrum (“center”) + petō (“to seek, aim”) +‎ -al. Analysable as centri- +‎ -petal.

• (General American) IPA^(key): /sɛnˈtɹɪp.ə.tl̩/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˌsɛn.tɹɪˈpiː.tl̩/, (rare) /sɛnˈtɹɪp.ə.tl̩/

centripetal (not comparable)

1. Directed or moving towards a centre.
2. Of, relating to, or operated by centripetal force.
   • 1988, Tsitsi Dangarembga, Nervous Conditions, Faber & Faber Limited (2021), page 141:

     It was a centripetal time, with me at the centre, everything gravitating towards me.

3. (neuroanatomy, of a nerve impulse) Directed towards the central nervous system; afferent.

• centrifugal

Borrowed from German zentripetal. By surface analysis, centripet +‎ -al. Both the English and the German adjectives have their origin in the root of the Latin for 'centrum', combined with the Latin for 'searching': 'petere', and the suffix for adjectives '-al'. The Latin verb 'fugere', = 'fleeing', forms the second part of 'centrifugal', the antonym of 'centripetal'.

centripetal m or n (feminine singular centripetală, masculine plural centripetali, feminine and neuter plural centripetale)

1. centripetal