Etymology

photodisintegration

Today it means: Any nuclear reaction, especially a nuclear fission, initiated by absorption of high-energy electromagnetic radiation such as a gamma ray. Full definition →

English disintegration ← Ancient Greek φωτο- (phōto-) ← Proto-Hellenic *pʰáwos
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰéh₂os
  3. Proto-Hellenic*pʰáwos
  4. Ancient Greekφᾰ́ος (phắos)
  5. Ancient Greekφῶς (phôs)
  6. Ancient Greekφωτο- (phōto-)
  7. Englishphoto-
  8. Englishdisintegration
  9. English todayphotodisintegration

From photo- + disintegration.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.