Where does “subatomic” come from?
Subatomic derives from English atomic, from Ancient Greek ἄτομος meaning indivisible, composed of the prefix ἀ- meaning not and a root ultimately from Proto-Indo-European sem- meaning one.
subatomic (English): Relating to particles that are constituents of...
Definitions
- Relating to particles that are constituents of...
Ancestry of “subatomic”, step by step
subatomic traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via English atomic
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | atomic | Of or relating to atoms; composed of atoms;... |
| 2 | English | -ic | Used to form adjectives from nouns with the... |
| 3 | English | image | An optical or other representation of a real... |
| 4 | French | image | picture, image; frame; first-person singular... |
| 5 | Portuguese | imagem | image; picture; figure; image; image; face |
| 6 | Spanish | imagen | image |
| 7 | Italian | immagine | image; imago |
| 8 | Latin | imāginem | — |
| 9 | Latin | im- | Alternative form of in-; form of "in"; in |
| 10 | Latin | īn- | un-, non-, not |
| 11 | Latin | în | in, at, on, upon, from (space) |
| 12 | Latin | en | lookǃ beholdǃ; reallyǃ?; come onǃ |
| 13 | Proto-Italic | en | in |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | h₁én | in |
via French subatomique
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | French | subatomique | subatomic |
| 2 | French | sub- | sub |
| 3 | Latin | sub- | under, sub |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | upó | under, below |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | h₃ewp- | — |