-tron


a combining form extracted from electron, used with nouns or combining forms, principally in the names of electron tubes (ignitron; klystron; magnetron) and of devices for accelerating subatomic particles (cosmotron; cyclotron); also, more generally, in the names of any kind of chamber or apparatus used in experiments (biotron).

Origin of -tron

by initial shortening of electron, with perhaps accidental allusion to the Gk instrumental suffix -tron, as in árotron plough

Words nearby -tron

British Dictionary definitions for -tron

-tron

suffix forming nouns

indicating a vacuum tube magnetron
indicating an instrument for accelerating atomic or subatomic particles synchrotron

Word Origin for -tron

from Greek, suffix indicating instrument