subatomic en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Southern-England) audio
- /ˌsʌbəˈtɒmɪk/ (Received-Pronunciation)
- /ˌsʌbəˈtɑːmɪk/ (General-American)
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *upó Proto-Italic *supo Latin sub Latin sub-der. English sub- Proto-Indo-European *né Proto-Indo-European *n̥- Proto-Hellenic *ə- Ancient Greek ἀ- (a-) Proto-Indo-European *temh₁- Proto-Indo-European *-né- Ancient Greek τέμνω (témnō) Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Indo-European *-ós Proto-Hellenic *-ós ▲ Ancient Greek -ος (-os)influ. Ancient Greek -ός (-ós) Ancient Greek *τομός (*tomós) Ancient Greek ἄτομος (átomos)bor. Latin atomusbor. Middle French athomebor. Middle English attome English atom Proto-Indo-European *-ikos Proto-Italic *-ikos Latin -icuslbor. Old French -iquebor. Middle English -ik English -ic English atomic English subatomic From sub- + atomic.
Meanings
-
(not-comparable) Relating to particles that are constituents of the atom, or are smaller than an atom; such as proton, neutron, electron, etc.
We humans are so stuck in the middle of the cosmic scales — in average height, one-hundredth of one-septillionth (10^-24) the size of the observable universe, and with typical life spans of a couple octillion attoseconds. And an attosecond is an eternity compared with the lifetime of the elusive Higgs boson, a subatomic particle that exists for one-thousandth of an attosecond before decaying.
2023 October 9, Dennis Overbye, “The Science Nobel Winners Were Short and Fast”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 12 Oct 2023:
-
(not-comparable) Relating to something that is smaller in scale than the diameter of a hydrogen atom.
The electron microscope is able to resolve detail at the subatomic level.
Deriveds
Relateds
subatomically · atomic · subatomic particle
Translations (31)
ca subatòmic (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · fi subatominen (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · nl subatomair (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · gl subatómico (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · ru суба́томный (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · nrf souô-atonmique (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · tr atomaltı (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · eo subatoma (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · es subatómico (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · ja 素粒子 (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · fi subatomaarinen (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · sv subatomär (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · hi अवपरमाणुक (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · is smærri en frumeind (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · cy isatomig (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · pl subatomowy (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · hi उपपरमाण्विक (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · ro subatomic (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · ast subatómicu (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · hu szubatomi (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · hy ներատոմային (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · pt subatômico (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · cs subatomový (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · el υποατομικός (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · is innan atóms (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · fr subatomique (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · ga fo-adamhach (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · it subatomico (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · de subatomar (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · cmn 亞原子 /亚原子 (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom) · pt subatómico (relating to particles that are smaller than an atom)