Electronic

How to spell electronic

10 letters · 4 syllables

How to pronounce electronic

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does electronic mean?

1. adjectiveRelating to or operated by devices that work through the controlled flow of electrons, such as computers, phones, and other digital equipment.

Electronic in a sentence

• The company switched to electronic invoices to save paper.

• Airport security asked travellers to remove every electronic device from their bags.

Where does electronic come from?

Language of origin: Greek

The word traces back to the Greek elektron, which literally meant 'amber', the fossilised tree resin that gives off a static charge and attracts light objects when it is rubbed. In 1600 the English scientist William Gilbert latinised this into electricus to describe that amber-like attractive force, and from there English gained 'electric' and 'electricity'. In 1891 the physicist George Johnstone Stoney coined 'electron' for the tiny negatively charged particle, simply adding the particle ending to the same amber root. 'Electronic' then grew from 'electron' with the ordinary adjective suffix -ic, and by the early twentieth century it described devices that work by controlling the flow of electrons. The spelling is reassuringly regular once you remember the chain electron then electronic: there is no hidden trap beyond keeping the unstressed vowels in order.

How the word is built

• electr- (from Greek elektron: amber, the substance that produces static charge)
• -on (particle suffix, as in electron)
• -ic (adjective suffix: relating to)