Etymology Explorer › English

Where does “joule” come from?

I appreciate your careful instructions, but I need to flag an issue: the etymology chain you've provided (English Joel → Hebrew יוֹאֵל) does not support the headword "joule." **Joule** (the unit of energy) is named after the physicist James Prescott Joule (19th century) and has no etymological connection to the name Joel or Hebrew יוֹאֵל. I cannot write an accurate one-sentence summary because the chain provided does not match the headword. Could you verify: - Is the headword "joule" (the unit) or "Joel" (the name)? - Is the chain correct as written? If you meant to request an etymology for **Joel**, I'd be happy to write that summary instead.

joule (English): In the International System of Units, the derived...

Definitions

  1. In the International System of Units, the derived...

Ancestry of “joule”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1EnglishJoel—
2FrenchJudicaël—
3Old BretonIudicael—
4Welshcaelto get, receive, have; to get to, be allowed to,...
5EnglishKyle—
6Scottish Gaeliccaolthin, narrow; strait, narrows, firth, kyle; the...
7Middle Irishcáelnarrow
8Old Irishcoíl—
9Proto-Celtickoilosthin
10Proto-Indo-Europeansḱēy-to shine; to shimmer; shadow; luster, gloss,...
11Proto-Germanicskaidąseparation, distinction
12Proto-Indo-EuropeanskÁit-to cut, part, spearate, divide; to cut, part,...

Words derived from “joule”

  • kilojoule
  • megajoule
  • millijoule
  • gigajoule
  • microjoule
  • nanojoule
  • petajoule
  • terajoule
  • picojoule
  • joulemeter
  • femtojoule
  • attojoule
  • pico-joule
  • nano-joule
  • kilo-joule
  • mega-joule
  • micro-joule
  • giga-joule
  • tera-joule
  • milli-joule
  • oxyjoule
  • meg
  • multikilojoule
  • yottajoule
Every word from Proto-Indo-European skÁit- →