catión

cation

noun kah-TYOHN Rare

Origin: Greek kation (going down) — moves toward cathode

Usage Note

Catión is the chemistry term for a positively charged ion, formed when an atom or molecule loses one or more electrons. Its counterpart is the anión (anion, negatively charged). In Spanish, the written accent on catión is required to mark the stress on the final syllable, distinguishing it from the stress pattern of most Spanish words. The plural is cationes.

Examples

"El sodio forma un catión con carga positiva."

Natural Translation

Sodium forms a cation with a positive charge.

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