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electrical equipment vs electric car

English Language & Usage Asked by nklymok on August 13, 2021

Both of these things run on electricity. I can’t figure out why electrical equipment can’t be electric equipment?
Even after some research, I can’t give the proper answer.

2 Answers

The US legal definitions website defines electrical equipment as

any apparatus, device, integral component, or integral part used in an activity which is electrically, electronically, mechanically, or by legal prescription necessary to the process of generation, transmission, or distribution of electric energy.

There does not seem to be a formal definition of electric equipment but there are many devices that are described as an electric something. For example electric drill, electric car and electric cookers. The last site describes an electric cooker as

Electric Cookers use electricity to power both the grill/main oven and the hobs.

Internet searches for items like electric consumer units or electric transformer do return hits but, almost universally direct to pages which describe the equipment as electrical.

From this we can say that, in the main, if you talk about individual pieces of equipment that run on electricity they are usually referred to as 'electric'. For instance electric drill, electric cooker, electric light and, as you say in your question, electric car. However some electrical equipment does not consume electricity, it generates, distributes, converts and measures it (for example generators, transformers, circuit breakers and meters): these are usually referred to as electrical equipment. The general term is electrical equipment but that includes the more specific electric device.

Correct answer by BoldBen on August 13, 2021

You can find your answer from this: we call this kind of usage "an idiomatic phrase or an idiomatic expression"

Answered by Brandon on August 13, 2021

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