radon

Forms

radon m (uncountable)^[1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from German Radon, formed by C. Schmidt from Radium by a change of suffix, with the ending -on of the names of the noble gases.^[2][3][4] The Grand Robert describes it as formed from radium and the same suffix.^[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

It is first recorded in French in 1923 for the radioactive gas given off by radium;^[5][6][3] the TLFi's first quotation is from Marie Curie in 1924.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The gas was discovered in 1908 and first called by the phrase émanation du radium, then niton;^[5][3] Etymonline notes that niton was current in France and Germany.^[4] Radon replaced these names.^[5] Since about 1960 it has also been used of any radioactive emanation.^[3] The TLFi quotes a 1962 text on the need to ventilate uranium mines to remove radon.^[2]

Timeline

• 1908 – The gas is discovered and called émanation du radium.^[5][3]
• 1918 – The English word radon is recorded, from German.^[4]
• 1923 – First recorded in French.^[5][6][3]
• 1924 – Marie Curie uses it in Isotopie.^[2]
• 1932 – Recorded by Larousse.^[7]
• c. 1960 – Used of a radioactive emanation in general.^[3]

Meanings

Noun

1. (chemistry) radon: a radioactive chemical element (symbol Rn, atomic number 86), the heaviest of the noble gases, produced by the decay of the isotopes of radium.^[6][2][8]

Related words

• radium
• German Radon

Usage notes

Littré records a different word radon, a Norman term for an artichoke offshoot, with the verb radonner “to remove the offshoots to make a new plant”.^[9]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e Trésor de la langue française informatisé (2004), ATILF – CNRS & Université de Lorraine, atilf.fr/tlfi; electronic version of Imbs, Paul; Quemada, Bernard, eds. (1971–1994), Trésor de la langue française, Paris: CNRS / Gallimard
3. ^ a b c d e f g Rey, Alain, ed. (1992), Dictionnaire historique de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
4. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b c d e f Rey, Alain, ed. (2005), Le Grand Robert de la langue française, electronic version, Paris: Le Robert
6. ^ a b c Rey-Debove, Josette; Rey, Alain, eds. (2007), Le Petit Robert de la langue française, Paris: Le Robert
7. ^ Guilbert, Louis; Lagane, René; Niobey, Georges, eds. (1971–1978; 1989), Grand Larousse de la langue française, Paris: Larousse
8. ^ Dictionnaire de français Larousse, larousse.fr/dictionnaires/francais (accessed 2024)
9. ^ Littré, Émile (1873–1877), Dictionnaire de la langue française, 4 vols. and supplement, Paris: Hachette