noun
- the electrode or terminal by which current enters an electrolytic cell, voltaic cell, battery, etc.
- the negative terminal of a voltaic cell or battery.
- the positive terminal, electrode, or element of an electron tube or electrolytic cell.
noun
- the positive electrode in an electrolytic cell
- Also called (esp US): plate the positively charged electrode in an electronic valve
- the negative terminal of a primary cellCompare cathode
1834, coined from Greek anodos “way up,” from ana “up” (see ana-) + hodos “way” (see cede). Proposed by the Rev. William Whewell (1794-1866), English polymath, and published by English chemist and physicist Michael Faraday (1791-1867). So called from the path the electrical current was thought to take. Related: Anodic.
- The positive electrode in an electrolytic cell, toward which negatively charged particles are attracted. The anode has a positive charge because it is connected to the positively charged end of an external power supply.
- The positively charged element of an electrical device, such as a vacuum tube or a diode, to which electrons are attracted.
- The negative electrode of a voltaic cell, such as a battery. The anode gets its negative charge from the chemical reaction that happens inside the battery, not from an external source. Compare cathode.