Cation
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A positively charged ion: one that would be attracted to the cathode in electrolysis. physical
- 2 a positively charged ion wordnet
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"A cation is a positively charged ion, with more protons than electrons, while an anion is negatively charged, with more electrons than protons."
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Ancient Greek κᾰτῐόν (kătĭón), neuter present participle of κᾰ́τειμῐ (kắteimĭ, “to go down, come down”), from κᾰτᾰ- (kătă-, “downwards, down, cata-”) + εἶμῐ (eîmĭ, “to go, come”). Coined by English polymath William Whewell in 1834 for Michael Faraday, who introduced it later that year. By surface analysis, cat(a)- + ion.
Related phrases
More for "cation"
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.