atomic
/əˈtɒmɪk/uh-TAH-mik
UK form converted from the US by rule · unchecked/əˈtɑmɪk/uh-TAH-mik
Meaningrelating to atoms
Common meaning: to do with atoms or atomic energy
Tap a word part to explore
- anot, without (Greek ἀ-/ἀν-)Liddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. · scan
- tomto cut; a cuttingLiddell & Scott, Greek-English Lexicon (1883), p. 1540 · scan
- icadjective ending: relating to
‘not, without (Greek ἀ-/ἀν-)’ + ‘to cut’ → atomic
Journey through time
- Greekτέμνω; τομή‘to cut’
- Latinatomus
- Englishatom‘the smallest unit of an element, once thought uncuttable’
- Englishformed in English from atomatomic‘to do with atoms or atomic energy’ · today
Sources & notes
Meaning: “Meaning” is the sense that emerges from the word’s roots; “Common meaning” is today’s everyday sense. Both written by us.
Pronunciation
- UK IPA: converted from the US form by rule (unchecked). Respelling: generated.
- No UK recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-GB voice.
- US IPA: CMUdict (BSD-2), converted to IPA by rule. Respelling: generated.
- No US recording; the speaker uses your device’s en-US voice.
Origin: Formed in English from atom + -ic.
Dictionary: Skeat (1898), ATOM, p.40 · scan
Roots
- τέμνω; τομή Greek “to cut; a cutting”
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