atom

Meaning

Noun

• The smallest possible amount of matter which still retains its identity as a chemical element, now known to consist of a nucleus surrounded by electrons.
• A hypothetical particle posited by Greek philosophers as an ultimate and indivisible component of matter.
• The smallest, indivisible constituent part or unit of something.
• In logical atomism, a fundamental fact that cannot be further broken down.
• The smallest medieval unit of time, equal to fifteen ninety-fourths of a second.
• A mote of dust in a sunbeam.
• A very small amount; a whit.
• An individual number or symbol, as opposed to a list; a scalar value.
• A non-zero member of a partially ordered set that has only zero below it (assuming that the poset has a least element, its "zero").
• An element of a set that is not itself a set; an urelement.
• A member of an age group division in hockey for ten- to 11-year-olds.

Origin

• From Middle English attome, from Middle French athome, from Latin atomus ("smallest particle"), from Ancient Greek ἄτομος ("indivisible"), from ἀ- + τέμνω.