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Radar

3 stages from Latin to English.

Today it means a system that detects distant objects using reflected radio waves

Where does the word "radar" come from? It comes from Latin radius, passing through English before entering English (1940).

radius→radio→radar

Latin · classical

'staff, spoke of a wheel, ray of light'; centuries later the same word gave English 'radiation' and 'radio'

English · 1900s

"wireless transmission"

short for radiotelegraphy; Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic radio signal at St John's, Newfoundland, in December 1901

American English · 1940

"radio detection system"

a palindrome acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging, coined in 1940 by US Navy officers Samuel Tucker and F. R. Furth; Britain, which called it RDF, adopted 'radar' in 1943

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Read the full story

Radar’s story begins in Latin: radius meant “ray, spoke.” 'staff, spoke of a wheel, ray of light'; centuries later the same word gave English 'radiation' and 'radio'. By 1900s, the word had taken hold in English as radio. Short for radiotelegraphy; Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic radio signal at St John's, Newfoundland, in December 1901. It reached English by 1940 as radar. A palindrome acronym for RAdio Detection And Ranging, coined in 1940 by US Navy officers Samuel Tucker and F. R. Furth; Britain, which called it RDF, adopted 'radar' in 1943. Today, radar means a system that detects distant objects using reflected radio waves.