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atom

noun
/ˈætəm//ˈæɾm̩/US

Etymology

From Middle English attome, from Middle French athome, from Latin atomus (“smallest particle”), from Ancient Greek ἄτομος (átomos, “indivisible”), from ἀ- (a-, “not”) + τέμνω (témnō, “to cut”, o-grade in τομ-) + -ος (-os). Atoms are so named because they were historically thought up as to be the smallest unit of matter, and thus indivisible. Doublet of atomus.

  1. derived from ἄτομος
  2. derived from atomus
  3. derived from athome
  4. inherited from attome

Definitions

  1. The smallest possible amount of matter which still retains its identity as a chemical…

    The smallest possible amount of matter which still retains its identity as a chemical element, now known to consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons.

  2. A hypothetical particle posited by Greek philosophers as an ultimate and indivisible…

    A hypothetical particle posited by Greek philosophers as an ultimate and indivisible component of matter.

  3. The smallest, indivisible constituent part or unit of something.

    • Towards the following morning, the thermometer fell to 5°; and at daylight, there was not an atom of water to be seen in any direction.
    • But at this critical moment the pirate astern sent a mischievous shot and knocked one of the men to atoms at the helm.
  4. ›+ 10 more definitions

    1. In logical atomism, a fundamental fact that cannot be further broken down.

    2. The smallest medieval unit of time, equal to fifteen ninety-fourths of a second.

    3. A mote of dust in a sunbeam.

    4. A very small amount

      A very small amount; a whit.

      • "Doctor, tell me one word more," said Theodore, quivering with suppressed emotion. "How do you think it will end?" / "I have hardly the faintest atom of hope," answered this honest, earnest man.

    5. An individual number or symbol, as opposed to a list

      An individual number or symbol, as opposed to a list; a scalar value.

    6. An integer representing a particular string.

    7. A non-zero member of a partially ordered set that has only zero below it (assuming that…

      A non-zero member of a partially ordered set that has only zero below it (assuming that the poset has a least element, its "zero").

      • In a Venn diagram, an atom is depicted as an area circumscribed by lines but not cut by any line.

    8. An element of a set that is not itself a set

      An element of a set that is not itself a set; an urelement.

    9. An age group division in hockey for nine- to eleven-year-olds.

    10. A Meitei surname from Manipuri

The neighborhood

Derived

adatom, atom bomb, atom cocktail, atomechanics, atomerg, atom feed, atomic, atomical, atomically, atomism, atomist, atomistic, atomization, atomize, atom laser, atomless, atomlike, atomology, atom physics, atompunk, atomsite, atom smasher, atomtronics, atomweight, Bohr atom, Boolean atom, catom, exotic atom, Gabor atom, gram atom, hadronic atom, Hooke's atom, interatom, metaatom, multiatom, pseudoatom, Rutherford atom, Rydberg atom, social atom, spiroatom · +3 more

Vish — recursive loop

A definitional loop anchored at atom. Each word in the ring is defined by the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself. Scroll to it and watch.

01atom02still03sparkling04beverage05liquid06molecules07molecule08atoms

A definitional loop anchored at atom. Each word in the ring appears in the definition of the next; follow the chain far enough and it folds back on itself.

8 hops · closes at atom

curated · pre-corpus. live cycle detection across the full graph is the next major milestone.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA