# diode

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈdaɪ.əʊd/ · frequency rank #26,755

## Definitions
1. An electronic device that allows current to flow in one direction only; used chiefly as a rectifier.

## Etymology
From di- (“two”) + -ode. Learned formation, coined by William Henry Eccles in 1919, after Ancient Greek δίοδος (díodos, “passage through”), which however is formed not with δι- (di-, “two”) but with δια- (dia-, “through”).

## Easily confused with
- **doe** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-doe)
- **DOD** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-dod)
- **done** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-done)
- **dude** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-dude)
- **dose** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-dose)
- **dive** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-dive)
- **dome** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-dome)
- **dope** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-dope)
- **dove** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-dove)
- **dire** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-dire)
- **Dodd** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-dodd)
- **dole** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-dole)
- **Dion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-dion)
- **doge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-doge)
- **dodo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-dodo)
- **doze** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-doze)
- **Dore** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-dore)
- **drove** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-drove)
- **drone** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-drone)
- **dodge** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/diode-vs-dodge)

## Common misspellings (6)
`ddiode`, `didoe`, `diodde`, `dioed`, `doide`, `idode`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/diode