Etymology

diffraction

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Today it means: The bending of a wave around an obstacle. Full definition →

New Latin diffrāctiō ← Latin diffrāctus
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The story

  1. Latin · derived fromdiffringo“to shatter, to break into pieces”
  2. Latin · derived fromdiffrāctus
  3. New Latin · derived fromdiffrāctiō
  4. English todaydiffraction

From New Latin diffrāctiō (in which coined by Francesco Maria Grimaldi), from Latin diffrāctus, past participle of Latin diffringo (“to shatter, to break into pieces”). Coined in Physico-mathesis de lumine (1665) by Francesco Maria Grimaldi.

Words from the same roots

Latindiffrāctus all →

diffract

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.