entry
neon
/ˈniːɑːn/Colorless noble gas producing brilliant electrical light
From Proto-Indo-European *néwos (new).
from Proto-Indo-European *néwos. By surface analysis, neo- + -on (suffix used in all noble gases).
from Greek neon , neuter of neos "new" (see new ); so called because it was newly discovered. They also discovered its...
Word Ancestry
from Proto-Indo-European *néwos. By surface analysis, neo- + -on (suffix used in all noble gases).
from Greek neon , neuter of neos "new" (see new ); so called because it was newly discovered. They also discovered its...
In 1898, the Scottish chemist Sir William Ramsay and his collaborator Morris Travers were hunting invisible gases in London when they isolated a substance nobody had seen before. They called it neon, simply the Greek word for “new”—a wonderfully plain label for an element that would soon turn city streets into electric color. Neon itself is ordinarily colorless and odorless; its famous red-orange glow appears when electricity excites the gas inside a sealed glass tube. The first neon advertising lights appeared in 1913, and by 1927 the phrase “neon sign” was established. So every buzzing shopfront and glowing motel sign is, in effect, an ancient Greek adjective announcing: “Here is something new.”
The Story
In 1898, the Scottish chemist Sir William Ramsay and his collaborator Morris Travers were hunting invisible gases in London when they isolated a substance nobody had seen before. They called it neon, simply the Greek word for “new”—a wonderfully plain label for an element that would soon turn city streets into electric color. Neon itself is ordinarily colorless and odorless; its famous red-orange glow appears when electricity excites the gas inside a sealed glass tube. The first neon advertising lights appeared in 1913, and by 1927 the phrase “neon sign” was established. So every buzzing shopfront and glowing motel sign is, in effect, an ancient Greek adjective announcing: “Here is something new.”
Modern Usage
Urban Dictionary entries use neon for an unusually attractive or sexually appealing man, and separately for a car with paint that will not remain adhered.
Kin & Kindred
From '*néwos'·new
Derived Terms
English words from this root
Sources
Free Dictionary
Urban Dictionary
Wikipedia