Etymograph

English

anion

Anion comes from Ancient Greek ἀνιών ‘(thing) going up’.

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀνιών1aniónas ἀνιόν‘(thing) going up’
  2. Englishtodayanion1

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, English anion

Lineage

  1. Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEἀνιώνWiktionary, English anionaniónas ἀνιόν‘(thing) going up’
  2. EnglishtodayanionWiktionary, English anion

Equivalent to an- ‘up, away, forward’ + ion

Proto-Indo-European *h₂en- ‘on, onto’

Proto-Germanic *ana- ‘on’

Proto-West Germanic *ana- ‘Forming verbs and adjectives from participles…’

English an-

Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- ‘to go’

Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti ‘to go, to be going’

Proto-Hellenic *éimi ‘to go’

Ancient Greek εἶμι ‘I go’

Ancient Greek ἰόν ‘going’

English ion

The story

Coined by English polymath William Whewell in 1834 for Michael Faraday, who introduced it later that year.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Every English word from Ancient Greek ἀνιών

Today it means

noun A negatively charged ion.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “anion”. By Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0, via kaikki.org (dump of Oct 3 2026); text adapted and restructured. Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word. License.

Etymograph / Ancient Greek ἀνιών / anion

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