anti-coincidence
|an-ti-co-in-ci-dence|
🇺🇸
/ˌæn.ti.koʊ.ɪnˈsɪ.dəns/
🇬🇧
/ˌæn.ti.kəʊ.ɪnˈsɪ.dəns/
against coincidence / not occurring together
Etymology
'anti-coincidence' originates from Greek and Latin elements: the prefix 'anti-' from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against', combined with 'coincidence' (from French 'coïncidence', ultimately from Latin 'coincidere'), where 'co-' meant 'together' and 'incidere' meant 'to fall (upon)'.
'coincidence' entered English via French 'coïncidence' (from Latin 'coincidere', 'co-' + 'incidere'); the prefix 'anti-' has been used in English since the early modern period. The compound form 'anti-coincidence' arose in modern technical English (notably 20th-century physics and electronics) to name circuits or methods that veto simultaneous signals.
Originally 'coincidence' meant 'falling together'; 'anti-coincidence' literally meant 'against falling together' and has specialized over time to denote either the general absence of coincidence or (in technical contexts) a device/process that excludes coincident events.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a technique, circuit, or arrangement (often in particle detection or radiation instruments) that rejects or vetoes events that occur simultaneously in two or more detectors; an anti-coincidence shield or circuit used to reduce background or unwanted coincident signals.
The gamma-ray telescope used an anti-coincidence shield to reject cosmic-ray events that would otherwise mimic true signals.
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Noun 2
the condition or state of not coinciding; lack of coincidence or concurrence between events, facts, or occurrences.
There was an anti-coincidence between the two reports, suggesting independent sources of information.
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Last updated: 2025/10/21 18:52