hertz

Where does the word "hertz" come from? It comes from German Hertz, and was adopted directly into English (1930).

Hertz’s story begins in German: Hertz meant “Hertz (a surname).” The surname of the physicist Heinrich Hertz, who proved the existence of electromagnetic waves at Karlsruhe in 1887. It reached English by 1930 as hertz. Adopted as the unit of frequency by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 1930. Today, hertz means the unit of frequency, one cycle per second.

1. Stage 1 · German · 1880s Hertz "Hertz (a surname)", the surname of the physicist Heinrich Hertz, who proved the existence of electromagnetic waves at Karlsruhe in 1887.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1930 hertz "unit of frequency", adopted as the unit of frequency by the International Electrotechnical Commission in 1930.