Where does “spectrophotometer” come from?
Spectrophotometer combines English spectrum from Latin specio meaning "to look" and English photometer from Ancient Greek μέτρον meaning "measure," both ultimately from Proto-Indo-European speḱ- and -trom.
spectrophotometer (English): An instrument used to measure the intensity of...
Definitions
- An instrument used to measure the intensity of...
Ancestry of “spectrophotometer”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | photometer | Any of several instruments used to measure... |
| 2 | English | -meter | Used to form the names of measuring devices |
| 3 | French | mètre | metre/meter; first-person singular present... |
| 4 | Latin | metrum | a measure |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | μέτρον | something used to measure: measure, rule, weight;... |
| 6 | Ancient Greek | -τρον | Forms instrument nouns |
| 7 | Proto-Hellenic | -tron | Forms instrument nouns from verb stems |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -trom | Forms nouns denoting a tool or instrument |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | -tḗr | Derives agent nouns from verbs, denoting someone... |