axon

A1X8O1N1
/ˈæksɒn/

noun

A nerve fibre which is a long slender projection of a nerve cell, and which conducts nerve impulses away from the body of the cell to a synapse.

Similar
axone
OriginAncient Greek ἄξων (áxōn) ← Proto-Hellenic *aksōn ← Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs- →
Less commonScrabble 11
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Meanings

axon1

nounaxon (plural axons)

plural axons · alternative dated axone

  1. biologyA nerve fibre which is a long slender projection of a nerve cell, and which conducts nerve impulses away from the body of the cell to a synapse.

Axon2

proper noun
  1. A surname.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounlong nerve fiber that conducts away from the cell body of the neuron

Similar
axone
Broader
nerve fibernerve fibre
Also see
axoneneuraxon

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

axon · noun

  1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂eǵ-?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂eḱs-
  3. Proto-Hellenic*aksōn
  4. Ancient Greekἄξων (áxōn)
  5. Englishaxon

Derived from Ancient Greek ἄξων (áxōn, “axis”). Via Proto-Indo-European *h₂eḱs- cognate with inherited English axle and other borrowed axis, aisle, ala, atelier.

More words from Proto-Indo-European

Full word history & related roots →

Axon · proper noun

English surname, from the Middle English personal name Ackeson, equivalent to Acke (a pet form of Adam) + -son. The first element could also be from a variant of the female name Agatha, see also Agate.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Brazilian Portuguese axônio
  • axônioa nerve fibre
Bulgarian аксон
  • аксон (akson)a nerve fibre
Catalan àxon, axó
  • àxona nerve fibre
  • axóa nerve fibre
Chinese Mandarin 軸突 /轴突
  • 軸突 /轴突 (zhóutū)a nerve fibre
Czech axon
  • axona nerve fibre
Dutch axon
  • axona nerve fibre
European Portuguese axónio
  • axónioa nerve fibre
Finnish aksoni, viejähaarake
  • aksonia nerve fibre
  • viejähaarakea nerve fibre
French axone
  • axonea nerve fibre
German Axon
  • Axona nerve fibre
Greek άξων
  • άξων (áxon)a nerve fibre
Hindi अक्षतंतु
  • अक्षतंतु (akṣatantu)a nerve fibre
Hungarian axon
  • axona nerve fibre
Indonesian akson
  • aksona nerve fibre
Irish néarshnáithín, acsón
  • néarshnáithína nerve fibre
  • acsóna nerve fibre
Italian assone
  • assonea nerve fibre
Japanese 軸索
  • 軸索 (jikusaku)a nerve fibre
Malay akson
  • aksona nerve fibre
Polish akson, neuryt
  • aksona nerve fibre
  • neuryta nerve fibre
Romanian axon
  • axona nerve fibre
Russian аксо́н
  • аксо́н (aksón)a nerve fibre
Spanish axón, cilindroeje
  • axóna nerve fibre
  • cilindroejea nerve fibre
  • neuritaa nerve fibre
Swedish axon, nervfiber
  • axona nerve fibre
  • nervfibera nerve fibre
Tagalog sulid ng dagandam
  • sulid ng dagandama nerve fibre
Turkish akson
  • aksona nerve fibre
Vietnamese sợi trục
  • sợi trụca nerve fibre

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

noxa
Cite this entry
APA

axon. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/axon

MLA

“axon.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/axon. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “axon,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/axon.

Source: axon on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.