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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

-ics \-ics\
A suffix used in forming the names of certain sciences,
systems, etc., as acoustics, mathematics, dynamics,
statistics, politics, athletics.
[1913 Webster]

Note: The names sciences ending in ics, as mathematics,
mechanics, metaphysics, optics, etc., are, with respect
to their form, nouns in the plural number. The plural
form was probably introduced to mark the complex nature
of such sciences; and it may have been in imitation of
the use of the Greek plurals ?, ?, ?, ?, etc., to
designate parts of Aristotle's writings. Previously to
the present century, nouns ending in ics were construed
with a verb or a pronoun in the plural; but it is now
generally considered preferable to treat them as
singular. In Greman we have die Mathematik, die
Mechanik, etc., and in French la metaphysique, la
optique, etc., corresponding to our mathematics,
mechanics, metaphysics, optics, etc.
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Mathematics have for their object the
consideration of whatever is capable of being
numbered or measured. --John
Davidson.
The citations subjoined will serve as examples of the
best present usage.
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Ethics is the sciences of the laws which govern
our actions as moral agents. --Sir W.
Hamilton.
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All parts of knowledge have their origin in
metaphysics, and finally, perhaps, revolve into
it. --De Quincey.
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Mechanics, like pure mathematics, may be
geometrical, or may be analytical; that is, it
may treat space either by a direct consideration
of its properties, or by a symbolical
representation. --Whewell.
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