hydrogen

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hydrogen

/ˈhaɪdɹəd͡ʒ(ə)n/ UK
/ˈhɑɪdɹəd͡ʒ(ə)n/ British, Southern, Standard
/ˈhaɪdɹəd͡ʒ(ə)n/ Canada, US
[ˈhaɪ̯d͡ʒɹəd͡ʒən] Canada, US
[ˈhaɪ̯d͡ʒəd͡ʒən] sometimes, Canada, US

Rhymes with -aɪdɹədʒən

Where it comes from

Borrowed from French hydrogène (“hydrogen”), coined by the French chemists Louis-Bernard Guyton de Morveau (1737–1816) and Antoine Lavoisier (1743–1794) from hydro- (prefix meaning ‘water’) + -gène (suffix denoting a producer of something), from the fact that water is produced as a compound when hydrogen is oxidized.

* The prefix hydro- is borrowed from Ancient Greek ῠ̔δρο- (hŭdro-), from ῡ̆̔́δωρ (hū̆́dōr, “water”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *wed- (“water”).

* The suffix -gène is borrowed from Ancient Greek -γενής (-genḗs, suffix meaning ‘born in a certain condition or place’), from γένος (génos, “descendant, offspring; race; etc.”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ǵenh₁- (“to beget, produce; to give birth”)) + -ης (-ēs, suffix forming some third-declension adjectives).

By surface analysis, hydro- (prefix meaning ‘water’) + -gen (suffix denoting a producer of something).

noun hydrogens

uncountable The lightest chemical element (symbol H), with an atomic number of 1 and atomic weight of 1.008. Our professor then reminded us that a hydrogen ion is merely a proton, and thus we should think about acid-base theory as we consider this problem further.
countable An atom of this element. Each carbon of the ring has one hydrogen attached except for the fourth one, which is bonded to a substituent.
uncountable Molecular hydrogen (sense 1; symbol H₂), a colourless, odourless and flammable gas at room temperature. A large tank of hydrogen constituted most of the bulk of that rocket.
countable A molecule of this molecular species.
Similar: dihydrogen, E949, hydrogen hydride
uncountable Synonym of protium (“the lightest and most common isotope of hydrogen (sense 1; symbol H, ¹H, or 11H), as contrasted with deuterium and tritium”). Both hydrogen and deuterium are present in every glass of water that you drink, but the amount of deuterium is rather small.
Similar: protium

Thesaurus

Closest in meaning: h, oxygen, selenide, hexafluoride, peroxide, hydrocarbon, sulphuretted, phosphuretted, cracking, fuel, proton, acid, sentence, hydrogen gas, molecular hydrogen, atomic hydrogen

noun

Translations

Every language

noun lightest chemical element

Español	hidrógeno
한국어	수소 suso
日本語	水素 suiso
中文	氫 /氢 qīng
हिन्दी	उदजन udjan, हाइड्रोजन hāiḍrojan
Kiswahili	hidrojeni
Français	hydrogène
Deutsch	Hydrogen, Hydrogenium, Wasserstoff
Italiano	idrogeno
Ελληνικά	υδρογόνο ydrogóno
Română	hidrogen
Русский	водоро́д vodoród
Tiếng Việt	hiđrô, hi-đrô, hyđrô, hy-đrô, khinh khí, hiđro
العربية	هَيْدُرُوجِين haydurūjīn, هِيدْرُوجِين hīdrūjīn
עברית	מֵימָן meiman

noun atom of this element

한국어	수소원자 susowonja
Deutsch	Wasserstoffatom

noun molecular hydrogen; molecule of this molecular species

한국어	수소 suso
日本語	水素 suiso
中文	氫氣 /氢气 qīngqì
हिन्दी	उदजन udjan
Français	hydrogène
Deutsch	Wasserstoff
Русский	водород vodorod

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MLA

"hydrogen." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/hydrogen. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

hydrogen. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/hydrogen

Chicago

"hydrogen." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/hydrogen.

BibTeX

@misc{hydrogen_2026,
  title = {hydrogen},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/hydrogen},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}