Dictionary.net

[Gr., beaten out) The E. curve is the figure assumed by the longitudinal axis of a slender flat spring of uniform Section under the action of two equal and opposite forces. Air and other gases are called E. fluids, because when a portion of gas is enclosed it expands or contracts freely when the containing space is enlarged or diminished. The E. limits of a given substance are the extreme amount of the strain (elongation, compression, etc.) that the substance can undergo without permanently altering its. form.