Where does “thermonuclear” come from?
Thermonuclear comes from English nuclear, from Latin nucleus, from Latin nux meaning "nut," from Proto-Indo-European knew-, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European ken-.
thermonuclear (English): Of, or relating to the fusion of atomic nuclei at...
Definitions
- Of, or relating to the fusion of atomic nuclei at...
Ancestry of “thermonuclear”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | English | thermo- | heat |
| 2 | Ancient Greek | θερμός | warm, hot, boiling, glowing; hotheaded, hasty,... |
| 3 | Ancient Greek | σφαῖρα | ball, globe, sphere |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | -ειδής | like, connected to, from the nature of, full of;... |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | -ής | adjective suffix |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | -ēs | Primarily forms adjectival bahuvrīhi compounds |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -ess | — |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | -os | Creates action nouns or result nouns from verbs;... |