Where does “photomultiplier” come from?
Photomultiplier is a compound of photo- and multiplier, where multiplier derives from Middle French multiplier, from Latin multiplicāre, from Latin multiplex meaning "having many folds," ultimately from Proto-Indo-European roots meaning "to fold."
photomultiplier (English): A device, normally in the form of a tube, that...
Definitions
- A device, normally in the form of a tube, that...
Ancestry of “photomultiplier”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | multiplier | A number by which another is to be multiplied;... |
| 2 | English | multiply | To increase the amount, degree or number of; To... |
| 3 | English | ply | A layer of material; A strand that, twisted... |
| 4 | English | apply | To lay or place; to put; To put to use; to use or... |
| 5 | Middle English | aplien | — |
| 6 | Old French | applier | to bend; to apply |
| 7 | Latin | applicō | to apply |
| 8 | Latin | ad- | to; usually prefixed to verbs, in which cases it... |
| 9 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 10 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 11 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 12 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |