anode
|an-ode|
🇺🇸
/ˈæn.oʊd/
🇬🇧
/ˈæn.əʊd/
entry path for current (upward way)
Etymology
'anode' originates from Greek, specifically the word 'anodos', where 'ana-' meant 'up' or 'upward' and 'hodos' meant 'way' or 'path'.
'anode' was adopted into modern scientific English in the early 19th century from New Latin/French formations based on Greek 'anodos', and came to English as the technical term 'anode' for a type of electrode.
Initially it meant 'upward way' or 'path upward', but over time it was coined in scientific contexts to mean an 'electrode (entry path for current)' and took on its modern electrical/electrochemical senses.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the terminal or electrode through which conventional current enters an electrical device such as a diode (the positive side for conventional current flow).
Connect the anode to the positive terminal of the power supply.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Noun 2
in electrochemistry, the electrode at which oxidation occurs (loss of electrons); depending on the cell type, the anode may be negative (galvanic/voltaic cell) or positive (electrolytic cell).
Oxidation occurs at the anode during the cell's operation.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/08/17 08:22