neon

Etymology

It was coined in 1898 by its discoverers, the chemists William Ramsay and Morris W. Travers,^[2][3][4][5] as borrowed from New Latin neon,^[3][6] from Ancient Greek νέον (néon, “something new”), the neuter of νέος (néos, “new”),^[7][8][4][9] because the element had been newly discovered.^[2] The ending follows argon.^[7] The Greek adjective is from Proto-Indo-European *néwos (“new”),^[10][8] the source of new.^[3][2] The same Greek word gives neo-.^[5][4] French néon is also recorded from 1898.^[7]

Earliest recorded meaning

The gaseous chemical element, one of the noble gases: 1898, in the paper by Ramsay and Travers in the Proceedings of the Royal Society.^[7][2]

Semantic evolution

Merriam-Webster's Book of Word Histories tells how Ramsay, who had found argon with Lord Rayleigh in 1894, reasoned that other such gases must exist, and in 1898 he and his colleagues found and named three: neon, krypton and xenon.^[11] The discoverers also found that neon gives a coloured glow when electrified in a sealed glass tube.^[2] Neon lights were used in advertising from 1913, and neon sign is recorded by 1927.^[2] By 1934 neon alone meant a neon lamp or neon lighting, also figuratively,^[7] and the adjective, of or like a neon light, especially brilliantly coloured or gaudy, is recorded from the same year, first in the United States.^[7] Merriam-Webster dates the adjective to 1904,^[12] and it now also describes very bright, fluorescent colours, as in neon yellow.^[12]

Timeline

• 1898 – the chemical element, named by Ramsay and Travers.^[7][2]
• 1904 – adjective, of or lighted by neon lamps.^[12]
• 1913 – neon lights in advertising.^[2]
• 1927 – neon sign.^[2]
• 1934 – a neon lamp or neon lighting; bright, gaudy, glowing.^[7]

Meanings

Noun

1. A colourless, odourless inert gaseous chemical element, atomic number 10 and symbol Ne, found in small amounts in the atmosphere and used in lighting.^[13][12][7]
2. A discharge tube or lamp filled with neon, or the light from it; a sign made of such lamps, especially for advertising: The neon above the diner flickered all night.^[12][7]

Adjective

1. Of, lit by or made of neon lamps: a neon sign.^[13][12]
2. Of a colour, very bright; fluorescent: neon green trainers.^[12][7]

Word family

• neoned
• neon lamp
• neon tetra

Related words

• neo-
• new
• argon

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ a b c Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
5. ^ a b Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
6. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
8. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
9. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
10. ^ Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (1999), 2nd ed., New York: Random House
11. ^ Merriam-Webster's Book of Word Histories, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
12. ^ a b c d e f g Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
13. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins