cathode
pronunciation
How to pronounce cathode in British English:
UK [ˈkæθəʊd]
How to pronounce cathode in American English:
US [ˈkæθoʊd]
-
- Noun:
- a negatively charged electrode that is the source of electrons in an electrical device
- the positively charged terminal of a voltaic cell or storage battery that supplies current
Word Origin
- cathode
- cathode: [19] The term cathode, meaning ‘negative electrode’, appears to have been introduced by the English philosopher William Whewell around 1834. It was based on Greek káthodos ‘way down’, a compound formed from katá- ‘down’ and hodós ‘way’ (also represented in exodus ‘way out’ and odometer ‘instrument for measuring distance travelled’, and possibly related to Latin cēdere, source of English cede and a host of derived words). It specifically contrasts with anode, which means literally ‘way up’.=> exodus, odometer
- cathode (n.)
- 1834, from Latinized form of Greek kathodos "a way down," from kata- "down" (see cata-) + hodos "way" (see cede). Proposed by the Rev. William Whewell (1794-1866), English polymath, and published by English chemist and physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867). So called from the path the electric current was supposed to take. Related: Cathodic; cathodal. Cathode ray first attested 1880, but the phenomenon known from 1859; cathode ray tube is from 1905.
Example
- 1. The cathode is lead and the anode is copper .
- 2. The kit comes with an anode a cathode and an led light .
- 3. When a battery charges , energy moves between its cathode and anode .
- 4. Each contains two electrodes ( an anode and a cathode ) immersed in an electrolyte .
- 5. Other scientists had proposed that cathode rays were composed of particles and had attempted to establish their relative mass and charge .