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nucleus

the central core of an atom or cell

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Where does the word "nucleus" come from? It comes from Latin nucleus, and was adopted directly into English (1700s).

Read the full story

Where does the word "nucleus" come from? It comes from Latin nucleus, and was adopted directly into English (1700s).

Nucleus’s story begins in Latin: nucleus meant “kernel.” A diminutive of 'nux', nut. It reached English by 1700s as nucleus. Atomic 'nucleus' was named by Rutherford in 1912. Today, nucleus means the central core of an atom or cell.

  1. Stage 1 · Latin · ancient nucleus "kernel", a diminutive of 'nux', nut.
  2. Stage 2 · English · 1700s nucleus "kernel", atomic 'nucleus' was named by Rutherford in 1912.

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