coherer

C3O1H4E1R1E1R1

noun

A detector of radio waves used in very early radio receivers.

OriginEnglish cohere ← Latin cohaereō ← Proto-Italic *kom- →
Scrabble 12
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Meanings

nouncoherer (plural coherers)

plural coherers

  1. natural sciencesA detector of radio waves used in very early radio receivers.

    Now, this home battery here ready to print is the main steam. The coherer is the valve, always ready to be turned on. The Hertzian wave is the child's hand that turns it.

    1902, Rudyard Kipling, Wireless

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱe?
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱóm
  3. Proto-Italic*kom
  4. Proto-Italic*kom-
  5. Latincon-
  6. Latinhaereō
  7. Latincohaereō
  8. Englishcohere
  9. Englishcoherer

From cohere + -er.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch coherer
  • coherera detector of radio waves used in very early radio receivers
Finnish kohereeri
  • kohereeria detector of radio waves used in very early radio receivers
French cohéreur
  • cohéreura detector of radio waves used in very early radio receivers
German Fritter
  • Frittera detector of radio waves used in very early radio receivers
Italian coesore
  • coesorea detector of radio waves used in very early radio receivers
Russian коге́рер
  • коге́рер (kogérer)a detector of radio waves used in very early radio receivers
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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