Static electricity was known to people more than 2500 years ago. The Greeks knew about the attractive property of the resin amber. They knew that by rubbing amber with cloth, it could be made to attract small feathers. The Greek name for amber was 'elektron'. After about a thousand years William Gilbert, the court physician in England grouped all substances like amber under the name 'electrics'. From this term we get the term 'electricity'. All of us are familiar with the term 'current'. It means flow. On the other hand, 'static' means at rest. Hence in 'static electricity', we study effects of electricity which is at rest.
If you rub a plastic balloon on your dress, the rubbed balloon can attract small pieces of paper. If you rub a plastic comb vigorously against dry hair, it will also produce a similar effect. If the weather is very dry it can also bend the small water jet. In other words, when certain objects are rubbed they acquire property of attracting small pieces of paper etc. Any rubbed object which has a similar power of attraction is now said to be 'electrified' or recharged or to have charge. Such objects acquire certain 'charges' during the process of rubbing.
