nuclear

Where does the word "nuclear" come from? It comes from Latin nucleus, passing through English before entering English (1910s).

Nuclear’s story begins in Latin: nucleus meant “kernel.” 'kernel', from nux 'nut'. By 1911, the word had taken hold in English as nucleus. Ernest Rutherford showed at Manchester in 1911 that an atom's mass sits in a tiny central core, soon called its nucleus. It reached English by 1910s as nuclear. 'nuclear' first described cell nuclei in the 1840s; after Hiroshima in 1945 it came to mean atomic weapons and power. Today, nuclear means relating to the nucleus of an atom; relating to nuclear weapons or power.

1. Stage 1 · Latin · classical nucleus "kernel", 'kernel', from nux 'nut'.
2. Stage 2 · English · 1911 nucleus "core of the atom", Ernest Rutherford showed at Manchester in 1911 that an atom's mass sits in a tiny central core, soon called its nucleus.
3. Stage 3 · English · 1910s nuclear "of the atomic nucleus", 'nuclear' first described cell nuclei in the 1840s; after Hiroshima in 1945 it came to mean atomic weapons and power.