hydrogen

Pronunciation

• IPA: /ˈhaɪ.drə.dʒən/^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from French hydrogène, coined in 1787 by Guyton de Morveau, Lavoisier, Berthollet and Fourcroy,^[2][3] from Greek hudr-, the stem of ὕδωρ (húdōr, “water”) (see water), and -gène, producing (see -gen),^[3][2][4] because water is formed when it burns.^[3][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

The gaseous element: 1791, in Erasmus Darwin's Botanic Garden, as hydrogene;^[3][2][6] Merriam-Webster gives 1788.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The element had been isolated in 1766 by the English chemist Henry Cavendish,^[3] and an earlier English name for it was Cavendish's inflammable air (1767).^[2] German calls it Wasserstoff, “water stuff”, and Russian vodorod, both on the same model.^[2] Hydrogenate is from 1809,^[3] the hydrogen bomb is first recorded in 1947,^[3][2] and H-bomb from 1950.^[2]

Timeline

• 1767 – inflammable air.^[2]
• 1787 – French hydrogène.^[2][3]
• 1791 – hydrogen.^[3][6]
• 1809 – hydrogenate.^[3]
• 1947 – hydrogen bomb.^[3][2]

Modern meaning

Noun

1. A colourless, odourless, highly flammable gas, the lightest and most abundant element in the universe, which combines with oxygen to form water.

Word family

• hydrogenous

Related words

• hydrate
• hydr-
• hydro-
• hydride
• hydrogenase
• hydronium
• water
• hydraulic
• oxygen
• nitrogen
• -gen

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 f g h i j Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press