Etymology

autoionization

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Today it means: A process by which atoms or molecules spontaneously transition from an electrically neutral state to a lower-energy ionized state Full definition →

English ionization ← Ancient Greek αὐτο- (auto-) ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂ew
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The story

  1. Proto-Hellenic*autós
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ew
  3. Ancient Greekαὖ (aû)
  4. Ancient Greekτόν (tón)
  5. Ancient Greekαὐτός (autós)
  6. Ancient Greekαὐτο- (auto-)
  7. Englishauto-
  8. Englishionization
  9. English todayautoionization

From auto- + ionization.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.