diode
nounUK /ˈdaɪ.əʊd/ · US /ˈdaɪ.oʊd/
Etymology From di- (“two”) + -ode. Learned formation, coined by William Henry Eccles in 1919, after Ancient Greek δίοδος (díodos, “passage through”), which however is formed not with δι- (di-, “two”) but with δια- (dia-, “through”).
1
Business, Electrical engineering, Electricity, Electromagnetism, Electronics, Energy, Engineering, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Physics An electronic device that allows current to flow in one direction only; used chiefly as a rectifier.
- I propose to give the name diode to a tube with two electrodes.1919 April 18, William Eccles, Electrician, page 475:
- If a crystal or a diode is used, the amplifier-voltmeter combination may be used with an amplitude-modulated source; or with a c-w source, the detector may be connected to a microammeter or galvanometer as an indicating device.1949, Samuel Silver, Microwave Antenna Theory and Design, page 593:
1 more example
- In this circuit when the diode is forward biased, the voltage across the diode remains fairly close to the diode's barrier potential.2005, Robert Diffenderfer, Electronic Devices: Systems and Applications, page 69:
- Derived terms
- diodelaser, diodelike, diodic, Gunn diode, junction diode, laser diode, light-emitting diode, LED, microdiode, nanodiode, photodiode, Schottky diode, tunnel diode, Zener diode