OXYGENとは 意味・読み方・使い方

語源

Borrowed from French oxygène (originally in the form principe oxygène, a variant of principe oxigine ‘acidifying principle’, suggested by Lavoisier), from Ancient Greek ὀξύς (oxús, “sharp”) + γένος (génos, “birth”), referring to oxygen's supposed role in the formation of acids. By surface analysis, oxy- +‎ -gen.

発音

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ŏk'sĭjən, IPA: /ˈɒksɪd͡ʒən/
• (General American) IPA: /ˈɑksɪd͡ʒən/, /ˈɑksəd͡ʒən/

名詞

oxygen (countable and uncountable, plural oxygens)

1. The chemical element (symbol O) with an atomic number of 8 and relative atomic mass of 15.9994. It is a colorless and odorless gas.

   Synonyms: (rare) sourstuff, (when used as a packaging gas) E948

   Hypernym: chalcogen

2. Molecular oxygen (O₂), a colorless, odorless gas at room temperature, also called dioxygen.
   • 2013 September-October, Katie L. Burke, “In the News”, in American Scientist:

     Oxygen levels on Earth skyrocketed 2.4 billion years ago, when cyanobacteria evolved photosynthesis: the ability to convert water and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and waste oxygen using solar energy. The evolutionary precursor of photosynthesis is still under debate, and a new study sheds light.

3. (medicine) A mixture of oxygen and other gases, administered to a patient to help them breathe.
4. (countable) An atom of this element.
   • 2013, Spencer L. Seager, Michael R. Slabaugh, Chemistry for Today: General, Organic, and Biochemistry, page 479:

     Look first at any structure to see if there is a carbon with two oxygens attached. Hemiacetals, hemiketals, acetals, and ketals are all alike in that regard.

5. (figurative) A condition or environment in which something can thrive.

   Silence is the oxygen of shame.

   They hoped to starve the terrorists of the oxygen of publicity.

   • 2025 June 2, Adrian Horton, “Tech-bro satire Mountainhead is an insufferable disappointment”, in The Guardian‎, →ISSN:

     . I found myself longing for more than two minutes with the girlfriend, the ex-wife, the assistant, the board member, let alone one of the many staff at the house – anyone to de-center a perspective that has already claimed far too much oxygen in the public sphere.

派生語

関連する語

派生した語

• → Burmese: အောက်ဆီဂျင် (aukhcigyang)
• → Hawaiian: ʻokikene

参考

• ozone

参照

• Oxygen on the British Royal Society of Chemistry's online periodic table