Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “diatomic” come from?

Diatomic comes from English atomic, from Ancient Greek ἄτομος meaning indivisible, composed of the prefix ἀ- and a root from Proto-Indo-European sem- meaning one.

diatomic (English): Consisting of two atoms; A diatomic molecule or...

Definitions

  1. Consisting of two atoms; A diatomic molecule or...

Ancestry of “diatomic”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishatomicOf or relating to atoms; composed of atoms;...
2English-icUsed to form adjectives from nouns with the...
3EnglishimageAn optical or other representation of a real...
4Frenchimagepicture, image; frame; first-person singular...
5Portugueseimagemimage; picture; figure; image; image; face
6Spanishimagenimage
7Italianimmagineimage; imago
8Latinimāginem—
9Latinim-Alternative form of in-; form of "in"; in
10Latinīn-—
11Latinîn—
12Latinenlookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ
13Proto-Italicenin
14Proto-Indo-Europeanh₁énin

Words derived from “diatomic”

  • diatomicity
  • diatomically
Every word from Proto-Indo-European h₁én →