diode

Etymology

di- + -ode. Learned formation, coined by William Eccles in 1919, after Ancient Greek δίοδος (díodos).

noun

1. (electronics) An electronic device that allows current to flow in one direction only; used chiefly as a rectifier.
   I propose to give the name diode to a tube with two electrodes. April 18 1919, William Eccles, Electrician, page 475
   If a crystal or a diode is used, the amplifier-voltmeter combination may be used with an amplitude-modulated source; or with a c-w source, the detector may be connected to a microammeter or galvanometer as an indicating device. 1949, Samuel Silver, Microwave Antenna Theory and Design, page 593
   In this circuit when the diode is forward biased, the voltage across the diode remains fairly close to the diode's barrier potential. 2005, Robert Diffenderfer, Electronic Devices: Systems and Applications, page 69