atomic English · revision 10768

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=derivation|attested=1658|origins=en atom}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * IPA: UK /əˈtɒm.ɪk/, US /əˈtɑː.mɪk/^(Roach et al. 2011)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It is formed from [[atom]] and [[-ic]],^(Etymonline) or from Modern Latin atomicus, from atomus, indivisible.^(NODE 1998)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Pertaining to atoms, as a term of philosophy, especially the atomism of Leucippus and Democritus: the 1670s in Etymonline, 1678 in the OED;^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) Merriam-Webster gives 1658.^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ The scientific sense dates from 1811, with the atomic theory in chemistry.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) ''Atomic number'' is attested from 1821 and ''atomic mass'' from 1848.^(Etymonline) ''Atomic energy'' in the modern sense, energy released from atomic nuclei, is recorded by 1906 (intra-atomic energy from 1903).^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989) The ''atomic bomb'' is first recorded in 1914, in Wells's novel The World Set Free.^(Etymonline) In logic, atomic describes a sentence with no internal structure.^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1658 – atomic.^(MWU 2024)

+ * 1678 – philosophical atomism.^(OED 1989)

+ * 1811 – atomic theory.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1906 – atomic energy.^(Etymonline)^(OED 1989)

+ * 1914 – atomic bomb (Wells).^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Adjective===

+ # Of or relating to an [[atom]] or atoms.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Using or relating to [[nuclear]] energy or nuclear weapons: ''atomic warfare''.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+ # Very small; minute.^(AHD)^(Collins 2023)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[atomically]]

+ * [[diatomic]]

+ * [[interatomic]]

+ * [[monoatomic]]

+ * [[nonatomic]]

+ * [[polyatomic]]

+ * [[postatomic]]

+ * [[preatomic]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[atom]]

+ * [[nuclear]]

+ * [[atomize]]

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}