atom
/ˈætəm/A-tuhm
/ˈætəm/A-tuhm
Meaninguncuttable
Common meaning: the smallest unit of an element, once thought uncuttable
- anot, without (Greek ἀ-/ἀν-)Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. · scan
- tomto cut; a cuttingLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 1540 · scan
‘not, without (Greek ἀ-/ἀν-)’ + ‘to cut’ → atom
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Built on Greek τέμνω; τομή ‘to cut; a cutting’.
Did you know: our wording, based on Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), entry τέμνω, p. 1540 · dictionary scan
Roots
- τέμνω; τομή Greek “to cut; a cutting”
Related words
Building blocks are an automatic split · open in app