tribo-, trib-

(Greek: friction, rub, rubbing, grind, wear away; spend, waste time; be busy)

diatribe (s) (noun), diatribes (pl)
1. A bitter, abusive criticism, a verbal attack, or a denunciation: The editor scrawled a scathing diatribe on the reporter's article before it was printed in the newspaper.

The President has expressed many diatribes against various medias; including television, radio, and some newspapers.

2. Etymology: the Greek word diatribe, the ultimate source of the English word, is derived from the verb diatribein, made up of the prefix dia-, "completely", and tribein, "to rub, to wear away, to spend," or "to waste time, to be busy".
A bitter and abusive criticism.
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A long complaint or criticism .
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electrostatic series, triboelectric series (pl) (noun)
1. A list of materials which produce an electrostatic charge when rubbed together, arranged in such an order that a material has a positive charge when rubbed with a material below it in the list, and has a negative charge when rubbed with a material above it in the list.
2. A type of contact electrification in which certain materials become electrically charged after they come into contact with a different material and are then separated by rubbing.

The polarity and strength of the charges which are produced are determined by the materials, surface roughness, temperature, and other characteristics.

hydrotribophile (s) (noun), hydrotribophiles (pl)
A plant or animal that thrives in badlands: There are many animals that live in arid or semi-arid areas with scanty vegetation and marked surface erosion, including chuckwallas, lizards, jackrabbits, and rattlesnakes.

Many tortoises and birds are also hydrotribophiles that exist in barren land having roughly eroded ridges, peaks, and mesas.

hydrotribophilous (adjective), more hydrotribophilous, mopst hydrotribophilous
Descriptive of an organism living in arid or semi-arid areas: Two hydrotribophilous mammals are the pronghorn antelope and the jackrabbit that habitat not only the semi-arid deserts, but also priories and grasslands.
hydrotribophily (s) (noun)
Having an affinity or attraction to bad lands.
hydrotribophyte (s) (noun), hydrotribophytes (pl)
A badlands plant.
nanotribologist (s) (noun), nanotribologists (pl)
One who specialtizes in the study and applications of friction phenomenon at the nanometer scale (one billionth of a meter or 10-9).
nanotribology (s) (noun), nanotribologies (pl)
The study of friction at the molecular and atomic levels.

This field will become a very important part of production in the years to come, as a new generation of micromachines and nanomachines find their way out of the laboratory and onto the production line.

Pointing to a page about tribology More information about nanotribology is available here.

tribade (s) (noun), tribades (pl)
A reference to a woman who engages in sexual activity with another woman; a Lesbian.
tribade (verb), tribades; tribaded; tribading
To engage in lesbian intercourse or sexual pleasure when two woman rub their external genitalia against each other.
tribadism (s) (noun)
1. Lesbianism in which heterosexual intercourse is simulated; sometimes used to refer to the use of an artificial penis.
2. Mutual friction of the genitals between women.
tribady (s) (noun), tribadies (pl)
A form of lesbian intercourse involving the rubbing together of two partners' vulvae (external female sexual organs).
triboelectric (adjective)
A reference to an electrical charge that is produced by friction between two objects; such as, rubbing silk on a glass surface.
triboelectricity (s) (noun), triboelectricities (pl)
In physics, electrical charges produced by friction between two surfaces; static electricity.

Frictional electricity was supposedly known to the ancient Greeks, particularly Thales of Miletus, who observed about 600 B.C. that when amber was rubbed, it would attract small bits of matter. The term "frictional electricity" gave way to "triboelectricity", although since tribo means "to rub", the newer term does little to change the concept.

triboelectrification (s) (noun), triboelectrifications (pl)
1. The separation of electrical charges through surface friction.
2. A process of charge separation that involves the rubbing together of dissimilar material surfaces; such as, blowing dust which may charge fences and other metallic objects to such an extent that slight shocks are felt when touched.

The triboelectric series is a classification scheme for the ordering of the tendency for positive charge acquisition in rubbing. The detailed physical mechanism in triboelectrification is a long unsolved problem.

Cross references of word families that are related directly, or indirectly, to: "rub, rubbing; wear away; wipe": bruxo, brux-; frica-, frict-; terg-; -tripsy; trit-.