cathode

[kath-ohd]

noun

the electrode or terminal by which current leaves an electrolytic cell, voltaic cell, battery, etc.

the positive terminal of a voltaic cell or battery.

the negative terminal, electrode, or element of an electron tube or electrolytic cell.

Origin of cathode

1825–35; < Greek káthodos a way down, equivalent to kat- cat- + hodós way

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cathode

Historical Examples of cathode

The cathode is preferably formed of the same metal which is to be obtained.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 433, April 19, 1884
Various
To the anode he attached one of the negatives, to the cathode a small piece of iron.
Spawn of the Comet
Harold Thompson Rich
Waving away that orange gas, he reached for the cathode and held it up.
Spawn of the Comet
Harold Thompson Rich
The cathode as shown in Fig. 41 is rather smaller than is advantageous.
On Laboratory Arts
Richard Threlfall
The phenomenon is particularly marked at the edges and corners of the cathode.
On Laboratory Arts
Richard Threlfall

British Dictionary definitions for cathode

cathode

noun

the negative electrode in an electrolytic cell; the electrode by which electrons enter a device from an external circuit

the negatively charged electron source in an electronic valve

the positive terminal of a primary cell

Compare anode

Derived Formscathodal (kæˈθəʊdəl), cathodic (kæˈθɒdɪk, -ˈθəʊ-) or cathodical, adjective

Word Origin for cathode

C19: from Greek kathodos a descent, from kata- down + hodos way

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cathode

1834, from Latinized form of Greek kathodos "a way down," from kata- "down" (see cata-) + hodos "way" (see cede). Proposed by the Rev. William Whewell (1794-1866), English polymath, and published by English chemist and physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867). So called from the path the electric current was supposed to take. Related: Cathodic; cathodal. Cathode ray first attested 1880, but the phenomenon known from 1859; cathode ray tube is from 1905.

cathode in Science

cathode

[kăth′ōd′]

The negative electrode in an electrolytic cell, toward which positively charged particles are attracted. The cathode has a negative charge because it is connected to the negatively charged end of an external power supply.

The source of electrons in an electrical device, such as a vacuum tube or diode.

The positive electrode of a voltaic cell, such as a battery. The cathode gets its positive charge from the chemical reaction that happens inside the battery, not from an external source. Compare anode.