atom

atom
\ \ [16] Etymologically, atom means ‘not cut, indivisible’. Greek átomos ‘that which cannot be divided up any further’ was formed from the negative prefix a- ‘not’ and the base *tom- ‘cut’ (source also of English anatomy and tome), and was applied in the Middle Ages not just to the smallest imaginable particle of matter, but also to the smallest imaginable division of time; an hour contained 22,560 atoms. Its use by classical writers on physics and philosophy, such as Democritus and Epicurus, was sustained by medieval philosophers, and the word was ready and waiting for 19th-century chemists when they came to describe and name the smallest unit of an element, composed of a nucleus surrounded by electrons.
\ \ Cf.⇒ ANATOMY, TOME

Word origins - 2ed. . 2005.

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Synonyms:
, , (of any element), / , , , , , , , , , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • Atom — См. Атом Термины атомной энергетики. Концерн Росэнергоатом, 2010 …   Термины атомной энергетики

  • Atom- — Atom …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • Atom — Atom …   Deutsch Wörterbuch

  • Atom — • Primarily, the smallest particle of matter which can exist Catholic Encyclopedia. Kevin Knight. 2006. Atom     Atom     † …   Catholic encyclopedia

  • ATOM — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Atom (homonymie). Atom Extension de fichier …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Atom — [a to:m], das; s, e: kleinstes, mit chemischen Mitteln nicht weiter zerlegbares Teilchen eines chemischen Grundstoffes: Atome sind elektrisch neutral. Zus.: Wasserstoffatom. * * * Atom 〈n. 11; Chem.〉 1. kleinstes, mit chem. Mitteln nicht mehr… …   Universal-Lexikon

  • atom — ATÓM, atomi, s.m. 1. Cea mai mică parte dintr un element chimic care mai păstrează însuşirile chimice ale elementului respectiv. ♢ (fiz.; în compusul) Atom gram = greutatea exprimată în grame a masei unui atom. 2. Corpuscul infinit de mic,… …   Dicționar Român

  • Atom — Sn kleinstes Teilchen std. (15. Jh., Form 19. Jh.) Entlehnung. Entlehnt aus l. atomus f., zunächst mit lateinischer Flexion und maskulinem Genus. Das lateinische Wort wiederum ist entlehnt gr. átomos, einer Substantivierung von gr. átomos… …   Etymologisches Wörterbuch der deutschen sprache

  • atom — [at′əm] n. [ME attome < OFr atome < L atomus < Gr atomos, uncut, indivisible, atom < a , not + tomos < temnein, to cut: see TOMY] 1. Obs. any of the indivisible particles postulated by philosophers as the basic component of all… …   English World dictionary

  • Atom — At om, n. [L. atomus, Gr. ?, uncut, indivisible; a priv. + ?, verbal adj. of ? to cut: cf. F. atome. See {Tome}.] 1. (Physics) (a) An ultimate indivisible particle of matter. (b) An ultimate particle of matter not necessarily indivisible; a… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Atom — Atom, von ἄτoμoν, unteilbar, bezeichnete im Sinne der altgriechischen Philosophen die kleinsten Teilchen der Materie. In den Händen der Chemiker hat sich der Begriff des Atoms dahin umgestaltet, daß es, für jedes… …   Lexikon der gesamten Technik

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