neon

Definitions

From Greek neon, the neuter form of neos (new) = "the new one." In 1898 Ramsay and Travers named their newly discovered glowing gas neon — literally "the new (gas)." The modern color sense (neon pink) comes from the dazzling look of neon-filled signs.

Why It Means This

The element's name is just a fossilized record of its discovery: neos meant "new," and this was the newly found gas of 1898. Everything else the word means today — bright signs, electric pink, the aesthetic of a city at night — grew from the glow of the gas itself, not from its name.

Common Collocations

• 1.neon sign霓虹招牌
• 2.neon light霓虹灯
• 3.neon glow霓虹光芒
• 4.neon pink荧光粉
• 5.flashing neon闪烁的霓虹灯

Example Sentences

• 1.

  Neon is one of the noble gases and almost never reacts with other elements.

• 2.

  The bar's flickering neon sign turned the whole street pink at night.

• 3.

  She wore neon green sneakers that you could spot from across the field.