Etymologically
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electronic

Etymology and origin of the English word electronic

History Permalink
Confidence
Established
Formation
Derivation
First attested
1901

Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /ˌel.ekˈtrɒn.ɪk/, US /iˌlekˈtrɑː.nɪk/[1]

Etymology

It is formed from electron and the suffix -ic.[2][3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or pertaining to electrons: 1901 in Etymonline,[2] 1902 in the OED and Merriam-Webster,[5][3] the early 20th century in NODE and SOED.[4][6]

Semantic evolution

Pertaining to electronics, especially of a device operated by the controlled flow of electrons, is from 1930.[2][5] The electronic computer, colloquially an electronic brain, is from 1945,[5] and electronic publishing from 1977.[5] Later it came to mean carried out by means of computers, as in electronic mail and electronic commerce.[7][8]

Timeline

  • 1901 – pertaining to electrons.[2]
  • 1930 – pertaining to electronics.[2][5]
  • 1945 – electronic computer.[5]
  • 1977 – electronic publishing.[5]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Of, relating to or operated by the controlled flow of electrons, as in transistors and microchips.
  2. Of or relating to electronics.
  3. Carried out or stored by means of computers: electronic mail.
  4. Of music, produced or altered by electronic equipment.
  5. Of or relating to electrons.

Word family

  • electronically

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  3. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
  6. ^ Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (1992), 3rd ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin
  8. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Electronic.” Etymologically, 15 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/electronic. Accessed 16 Oct. 2026.

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