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Glite Dictionary
pentode

pentode

1 9.9
A glass tube with five metal parts that makes electrical signals stronger
  • noun
  • /ˈpɛnˌtoʊd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : pentodo
  • In her latest project, she experimented with a pentode to enhance audio clarity.

Examples

  • The technician replaced the faulty pentode to improve the amplifier's performance.

  • This approach is enforced not only by space considerations, but also by the fact that the passing years have erased triodes, power pentodes, klystrons, traveling-wave tubes, and the like from my memory.

    Academic text (1997)

  • The sound engineer explained how the pentode functions to boost weak electrical signals.

Surface Forms

pentode singular
pentodes plural

Morphology

pentode = penta + ode

Formed from Greek combining forms (penta- 'five' + -ode) that are not productive standalone English words, so the technical meaning 'with five electrodes' is not obvious to an average B1 learner.

Etymology

Pentode comes from the Greek prefix penta- meaning 'five', as in pentagon, and the ending -ode used in names for electric tubes. So a pentode is a tube with five parts, meaning five electrodes, used to make electrical signals stronger.