Where does “nuclear” come from?

Nuclear derives from Latin nucleāris, from Latin nucleus meaning "kernel," from Latin nux meaning "nut," from Proto-Indo-European knew-, a variant of Proto-Indo-European ken- meaning "to scratch or scrape."

nuclear (English): Pertaining to the nucleus of an atom; Involving...

Definitions

  1. Pertaining to the nucleus of an atom; Involving...

Ancestry of “nuclear”, step by step

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Latinnū̆cleus(small) nut
2Latinnuculeapertaining to a small nut
3Latin-eusargentum + API → argenteus; ferrum + API →...
4Ancient Greek-εῖοςForms adjectives, usually with a meaning of "of"...
5Proto-Indo-European-iHwós—
6Proto-Indo-European-wósCreates adjectives from verb stems

Words derived from “nuclear”

Every word from Proto-Indo-European -wós →