If you read the biographies of many of the great physicists of the late 19th into the early 20th century, they all came from Europe where a “high school” was known as a “Gymnasium”. Why was this? Perhaps athletics were more important than studies? And, when did the modern meaning of “Gymnasium” come about?
I don’t think this is an issue of ‘modern’ meaning. Gymnasium still means a secondary school in much of Europe.
In ancient Greece, the gymnasium was a place for both athletic and intellectual training. The word is used in some languages to refer to a school, for example in Germany, the meaning of the word is comparable to the American high school. In US English a gymnasium or gym is a room for athletics or exercise. It isn’t uncommon for the same word to mean different things in different languages or cultures.
I see… Now, I get it!
You got gymned.
Gym? Gym? OHHHHH, GIME!
All the best physics is done in the nude. That’s why I went into engineering instead.
Just a charming little tradition started by Archimedes.