nucleus

Meaning

Noun

• The core, central part of something, around which other elements are assembled.
• An initial part or version that will receive additions.
• The massive, positively charged central part of an atom, made up of protons and neutrons.
• A large membrane-enclosed organelle found in eukaryotic cells which contains genetic material.
• A ganglion, cluster of many neuronal bodies where synapsing occurs.
• The central part of a syllable, most commonly a vowel.

Origin

• Borrowed from Latin nucleus ("kernel, core"), a diminutive of nux. The earliest uses refer to the head of a comet and the kernel of a seed, both recorded in Lexicon Technicum in 1704. The sense in atomic physics was in a theoretical meaning.