Etymology

subshell

S1U1B3S1H4E1L1L1

Today it means: Any of the atomic orbitals for which the values of the n and l quantum numbers are the same, such as the three 2p or five 3d atomic orbitals. Full definition →

English shell ← Middle English schelle ← Old English sċiell
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The story

  1. Latinsub
  2. Latinsub-
  3. Englishsub-
  4. Proto-Indo-European*(s)kelH-
  5. Proto-Indo-European*skol-yeh₂
  6. Proto-Germanic*skaljō
  7. Proto-West Germanic*skallju
  8. Old Englishsċiell
  9. Middle Englishschelle
  10. Englishshell
  11. English todaysubshell

From sub- + shell.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.