English
cation
Cation comes from Ancient Greek κᾰτῐόν, from κᾰ́τειμῐ ‘to go down, come down’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- ‘to go’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ey-1‘to go’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁éyti2‘to go, to be going’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*éimi2‘to go’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἶμῐ3‘to go, come’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰ́τειμῐ3kắteimĭ‘to go down, come down’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰτῐόν3kătĭónneuter present participle of κᾰ́τειμῐ
- Englishtodaycation3
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor
- 1 Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti
- 2 Wiktionary, Ancient Greek εἶμι
- 3 Wiktionary, English cation
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁ey-Wiktionary, Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti‘to go’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₁éytiWiktionary, Ancient Greek εἶμι‘to go, to be going’reconstructed
- Proto-Hellenicc. 2200–1600 BCE*éimiWiktionary, Ancient Greek εἶμι‘to go’reconstructed
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEεἶμῐWiktionary, English cation‘to go, come’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰ́τειμῐWiktionary, English cationkắteimĭ‘to go down, come down’
- Ancient Greekc. 800–300 BCEκᾰτῐόνWiktionary, English cationkătĭónneuter present participle of κᾰ́τειμῐ
- EnglishtodaycationWiktionary, English cation
The story
Coined by English polymath William Whewell in 1834 for Michael Faraday, who introduced it later that year.
Linked words
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- ‘to go’
through Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti ‘to go, to be going’
initial, initiative, transition, ambient, ambitious, initiate, ambition, eyre, initiation, ambiance, ambit, sedition, initiator, 19 more
through Proto-Hellenic *éimi ‘to go’
through Ancient Greek εἶμῐ ‘to go, come’
Today it means
noun A positively charged ion: one that would be attracted to the cathode in electrolysis.
Sources
Sources: Wiktionary, “cation”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entries for Proto-Indo-European *h₁éyti, Ancient Greek εἶμι. 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 / Proto-Indo-European *h₁ey- / cation