the.com/agitation
the engine of clean laundry and revolutions alike, never content to let things settle.
means A state of physical shaking or churning, or a stirred-up condition of mind or society — restlessness, disturbance, or active campaigning for change.
from From Latin 'agitare,' the frequentative of 'agere' (to drive, do, set in motion) — so it literally means 'to drive again and again,' to keep something moving. That same 'agere' gives us 'act,' 'agent,' and 'agile.' The word arrived in English through French by way of Latin, first describing literal shaking and churning, then expanding to mental turmoil and, by the 18th and 19th centuries, to political 'agitation' — the deliberate stirring-up of public feeling.
- laundry physics
- washing machines clean by agitating, not soaking
- chemistry trick
- stirring speeds reactions by forcing molecules to collide
- political root
- agitators historically toppled regimes by refusing calm
- medical sign
- sudden agitation can flag oxygen-starved brains
- word origin
- from Latin agitare, to drive or set in motion
occupy wall street — 2011 protest movement that spawned 'we are the 99%' and inspired global demonstrations
hongkongers 2019 protests — months of street demonstrations against extradition bill that paralyzed hong kong
arab spring — 2010-2012 wave of uprisings across tunisia, egypt, libya, syria, yemen and beyond