English
radiation
Radiation comes from Latin radiatio ‘glittering, shining, radiation’, from radiō ‘to gleam, shine, beam’, and ultimately from radius ‘the radius of a circle’.
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEradius‘the radius of a circle’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEradiō‘to gleam, shine, beam’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEradiatioas radiatio‘glittering, shining, radiation’
- Englishearliest quotation 1986radiation
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history uncertain.
Lineage
- Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEradius‘the radius of a circle’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEradiō‘to gleam, shine, beam’
- Latin, derivedc. 75 BCE–200 CEradiatioas radiatio‘glittering, shining, radiation’
- Englishearliest quotation 1986radiation
Earliest quotation: 1986, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Christmas at Ground Zero: “It's Christmas at ground zero / And if the…”
Equivalent to radiate + -ion
Latin radius ‘spoke of a wheel’
Latin radiō ‘to radiate, furnish with spokes, give out…’
Latin radiātus ‘radiated’
English radiate
Linked words
through Latin radius ‘the radius of a circle’
through Latin radiatio ‘glittering, shining, radiation’
Today it means
noun The shooting forth of anything from a point or surface, like diverging rays of light.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Latin radius / radiation