nuclear

Pronunciation

• IPA: UK /ˈnjuː.kli.ə/, US /ˈnuː.kli.ɚ/^[1]

Etymology

It is formed from English nucleus + -ar,^[2][3][4] probably influenced by French nucléaire.^[2][3][5] Latin nucleus (“kernel”) is a diminutive of nux (“nut”).^[2]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of or like the nucleus of a cell: 1841 in Etymonline,^[2] 1846 in the OED and Barnhart.^[6][3] Merriam-Webster dates the word to 1833.^[5]

Semantic evolution

Of or belonging to an atomic nucleus is from 1914,^[2][3] following the general sense “central”, used in linguistics and phonetics from 1912.^[2][6] Nuclear energy is from 1930 in Etymonline^[2] or 1941 in Barnhart,^[3] nuclear physics from 1933, and nuclear fission from 1939.^[3] Of weapons deriving their power from nuclear reactions it is from 1945, with nuclear power and nuclear bomb that year,^[3][2] nuclear weapon from 1947 or 1948 and nuclear war from 1950 or 1954.^[2][3] The nuclear family, the basic family unit of parents and children, was used by the anthropologist G. P. Murdock in 1949.^[2][6] Nuclear winter was coined by the atmospheric scientist Richard Turco and popularised by Carl Sagan in 1983.^[2] As a noun, a nuclear weapon, it is from 1962.^[3] The phrase go nuclear, to lose one's temper, is informal.^[7]

Timeline

• 1841 – of a cell nucleus.^[2]
• 1912 – central.^[2][6]
• 1914 – of the atomic nucleus.^[2][3]
• 1933 – nuclear physics.^[3][2]
• 1945 – nuclear bomb, nuclear power.^[3]
• 1949 – nuclear family.^[2][6]
• 1962 – noun, a nuclear weapon.^[3]
• 1983 – nuclear winter.^[2]

Modern meaning

Adjective

1. Of or forming a nucleus, as of a cell.
2. Of or relating to the atomic nucleus.
3. Using energy released by fission or fusion of atomic nuclei.
4. Of, using or having nuclear weapons: a nuclear power.

Related words

• nuclei
• nucleus
• nucleo-
• nucleic
• nut
• nuclide

Usage notes

An alternative adjective, nucleal, is recorded from 1840, probably from French.^[2]

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 k l m n o p q r Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
4. ^ Pearsall, Judy, ed. (1998), The New Oxford Dictionary of English, Oxford: Clarendon Press
5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
6. ^ a b c d e Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press
7. ^ Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (2003), 11th ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster