The building blocks of English
Affixes
-on2
Inert gases.
The Greek neuter ending ‑on.
Argon was the first of the inert gases to be discovered; its name was taken from Greek, the neuter of argos, idle, from a‑ without, plus ergon, work. Others were named in imitation: neon (Greek, literally ‘something new’, neuter of the adjective neos), krypton (Greek krupton, neuter of kruptos, hidden); xenon (Greek, neuter of xenos, strange); radon (from radium).
Support this website
This dictionary contains more than 1,250 entries, illustrated by some 10,000 examples, all defined and explained for your information and emjoyment.
There are no advertisements to interrupt your reading pleasure. I rely on your generosity to cover running costs. Donations made via PayPal are secure.