electron English · revision 39412

+ {{infobox|confidence=established|formation=coinage|attested=1891, G. J. Stoney|origins=grc ἤλεκτρον}}

+

+ ==Pronunciation==

+ * UK: /ɪˈlɛk.tɹɒn/^(Wiktionary)

+ * US: /ɪˈlɛk.tɹɑn/^(Wiktionary)

+

+ ==Etymology==

+ It was coined in 1891 by the Irish physicist George Johnstone Stoney,^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)^(Dictionary.com 2016) from [[electric]] and the ending [[-on]] of [[ion]], [[anion]] and [[cation]].^(OED 2026)^(Barnhart 1988)^(Onions 1966) Barnhart and Dictionary.com see a possible influence of [[grc|ἤλεκτρον|tr=ḗlektron|t=amber]], the source of ''electric'', and of the earlier English ''electron'', amber or the alloy [[electrum]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Dictionary.com 2016) Rubbed amber produces static electricity.^(Barnhart 1988)

+

+ ==Earliest recorded meaning==

+ Stoney applied it in 1891 to the natural unit of electric charge.^(Onions 1966)^(Hoad 1986)^(OED 2026)

+

+ ==Semantic evolution==

+ Stoney meant a unit quantity of charge, but after the discovery of the particle that carries it the word came to name the particle itself, the negatively charged constituent of every atom that carries current in solids.^(Onions 1966)^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002) A figurative use appears from 1904.^(OED 2026) Its derivatives followed the growth of physics and engineering: ''electronics'' in 1910, ''electronic'' in 1902 (in the modern sense from 1930), the ''electron volt'' in 1930, used by Rutherford, and the ''electron microscope'' in 1932, a translation of [[de|Elektronenmikroskop]].^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Timeline==

+ * 1856 – an earlier ''electron'', the alloy electrum.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1891 – coined by Stoney for the unit of electric charge.^(Etymonline)^(OED 2026)

+ * 1902 – ''electronic''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1904 – figurative use.^(OED 2026)

+ * 1910 – ''electronics''.^(Barnhart 1988)

+ * 1932 – ''electron microscope''.^(Barnhart 1988)^(Etymonline)

+

+ ==Modern meaning==

+ ===Noun===

+ # A stable [[subatomic particle]] with a negative electric charge, found in all [[atom|alt=atoms]] outside the [[nucleus]], and the main carrier of electric [[current]] in solids.^(Collins 2023)^(OED 2026)^(MWU 2024)

+

+ ==Word family==

+ * [[antielectron]]

+ * [[photoelectron]]

+ * [[electron affinity]]

+ * [[electron cloud]]

+ * [[electron microscope]]

+ * [[electron volt]]

+

+ ==Related words==

+ * [[electronic]]

+ * [[electronics]]

+ * [[electric]]

+ * [[electrum]]

+ * [[ion]]

+ * [[proton]]

+ * [[neutron]]

+

+ ==Usage notes==

+ An earlier and unrelated English ''electron'', taken straight from Greek in 1856, meant the gold–silver alloy also called [[electrum]], and rarely amber.^(OED 2026)^(SOED 2002)

+

+ ==References==

+ {{reflist}}