Electrode
/ɪˈlɛk.troʊd/noun
A conductor through which electric current enters or leaves a medium.
Did you know?The first part comes from Greek *ēlektron* (“amber”), because rubbing amber produced static electricity, while the second part was coined in the 19th century from Greek *hodos* (“way, path”).
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
ēlektron
“amber; also the source of the word for electricity after static phenomena were observed in rubbed amber”
Late 18th Century
English
electric
“relating to amber-like electrical effects; later, relating to electricity”
19th Century
English
electrode
“a path or conductor for electric current, coined in scientific usage”
Modern English
English
electrode
“a conductor used to make electrical contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit”