traction
noun
[ ˈtrakʃ(ə)n ]
• the action of drawing or pulling something over a surface, especially a road or track.
• "a primitive vehicle used in animal traction"
• the grip of a tyre on a road or a wheel on a rail.
• "his car hit a patch of ice and lost traction"
• the extent to which an idea, product, etc. gains popularity or acceptance.
• "analysts predicted that the technology would rapidly gain traction in the corporate mobile market"
• the application of a sustained pull on a limb or muscle, especially in order to maintain the position of a fractured bone or to correct a deformity.
• "his leg is in traction"
Origin:
late Middle English (denoting contraction, such as that of a muscle): from French, or from medieval Latin tractio(n- ), from Latin trahere ‘draw, pull’. Current senses date from the early 19th century.
