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microwave

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Etymology and origin of the English word microwave

Confidence
Established
Formation
Compound
First attested
1931, Telegraph and Telephone Journal

Pronunciation

  • /ˈmaɪkɹəˌweɪv/, /ˈmaɪkɹəʊˌweɪv/[1]
  • US: /ˈmaɪkɹoʊˌweɪv/[1]

Etymology

It was formed in English in 1931 from micro- and wave.[2][3][4][5] In the kitchen sense it is short for the phrase microwave oven.[2][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

An electromagnetic wave of very short wavelength: 1931, in the Telegraph and Telephone Journal.[2][3][4]

Semantic evolution

The OED now defines microwaves as having wavelengths between about one millimetre and 30 centimetres.[2] The adjective, using or relating to microwaves, is found from 1933, and the verb, to transmit by microwaves, from 1948 in the OED and 1951 in Merriam-Webster.[2][5] Microwaves came into the kitchen in the 1950s: the adjective was used of cooking devices from 1957, and microwave oven is recorded from 1961.[2][3] The short form microwave for the oven itself dates from 1972 in the OED, and the verb "to cook in a microwave" from the same year,[2] although Etymonline gives 1974 and 1976.[3]

Timeline

  • 1931 – a very short electromagnetic wave.[2][3][4]
  • 1933 – the adjective, using microwaves.[2]
  • 1948 – the verb, to transmit by microwaves;[2] 1951 in Merriam-Webster.[5]
  • 1957 – of devices that cook with microwaves.[2]
  • 1961 – microwave oven.[3]
  • 1968 – microwaves as a medium for telecommunications.[2]
  • 1972 – a microwave oven, and the verb, to cook in one;[2] 1974 and 1976 in Etymonline.[3]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. An electromagnetic wave with a wavelength between about one millimetre and 30 centimetres, used in radar, communications and cooking.
  2. A microwave oven.

Verb

  1. To cook or heat in a microwave oven: He microwaved the leftover rice.
  2. To send signals by means of microwaves.

Word family

  • microwavable
  • microwaveable
  • cosmic microwave background
  • microwave spectroscopy
  • micro-
  • wave
  • microscope

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  5. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
Cite this entry

“Microwave.” Etymologically, 22 Oct. 2026, etymologically.com/en/microwave. Accessed 23 Oct. 2026.

Last edited on . ·