Etymograph

English

laser

Laser comes from Latin radiatio ‘glittering, shining, radiation’, from radius ‘a spoke of a wheel’, and perhaps ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *neredʰ- ‘extend forth, rise, outward’.

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*neredʰ-1‘extend forth, rise, outward’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEradius2‘a spoke of a wheel’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEradiō2
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEradiatio2‘glittering, shining, radiation’
  5. English1500–presentradiation2
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2004laser2

attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed deepest recorded ancestor

  1. 1 Wiktionary, Latin radius
  2. 2 Wiktionary, English laser
  3. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2004, PC Mag: “The bad news is that nearly every color laser…”.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*neredʰ-Wiktionary, Latin radius‘extend forth, rise, outward’uncertain
  2. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEradiusWiktionary, English laser‘a spoke of a wheel’
  3. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEradiōWiktionary, English laser
  4. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CEradiatioWiktionary, English laser‘glittering, shining, radiation’
  5. English1500–presentradiationWiktionary, English laser
  6. Englishearliest quotation 2004laserWiktionary, English laser. Earliest quotation in Wiktionary’s entry: 2004, PC Mag: “The bad news is that nearly every color laser…”

The story

Coined by American physicist Gordon Gould in 1957. Originally called an optical maser.

Full etymology on Wiktionary

Linked words

through Latin radius ‘a spoke of a wheel’

ray, radius, radial, rayon, 7 more

through Latin radiō

radiant, radiate, 2 more

through Latin radiatio ‘glittering, shining, radiation’

radiation

Another origin of laser

  1. Latinc. 75 BCE–200 CElaser‘the juice of the plant laserpitium, asafoetida’
  2. Englishtodaylaser

Today it means

noun A device that produces a monochromatic, coherent beam of light.

Sources

Sources: Wiktionary, “laser”; the older steps come from the Wiktionary entry for Latin radius. 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 *neredʰ- / laser

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