Thomson

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

Related to Thomson: Thomas Cook, Thomson Financial

Thom·son

(tŏm′sən), James 1700-1748.

Scottish-born British poet whose works, most notably The Seasons (1726-1730) and The Castle of Indolence (1748), presaged romanticism.

Thomson

, Sir Joseph John Known as "J.J." 1856-1940.

British physicist who discovered the electron. He won a 1906 Nobel Prize for his investigations on the electrical conductivity of gases.

Thomson

, Virgil Garnett 1896-1989.

American composer and music critic. His works include the opera Four Saints in Three Acts (1934), with a libretto by Gertrude Stein.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Thomson

(ˈtɒmsən)

1. (Biography) Sir George Paget, son of Joseph John Thomson. 1892–1975, British physicist, who discovered (1927) the diffraction of electrons by crystals: shared the Nobel prize for physics 1937

2. (Biography) James. 1700–48, Scottish poet. He anticipated the romantics' feeling for nature in The Seasons (1726–30)

3. (Biography) James, pen name B.V. 1834–82, British poet, born in Scotland, noted esp for The City of Dreadful Night (1874), reflecting man's isolation and despair

4. (Biography) Sir Joseph John. 1856–1940, British physicist. He discovered the electron (1897) and his work on the nature of positive rays led to the discovery of isotopes: Nobel prize for physics 1906

5. (Biography) Roy, 1st Baron Thomson of Fleet. 1894–1976, British newspaper proprietor, born in Canada

6. (Biography) Virgil. 1896–1989, US composer, music critic, and conductor, whose works include two operas, Four Saints in Three Acts (1928) and The Mother of Us All (1947), piano sonatas, a cello concerto, songs, and film music

7. (Biography) Sir William. See (1st Baron) Kelvin

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Thom•son

(ˈtɒm sən)

n.

1. Sir George Paget, 1892–1975, English physicist (son of Sir Joseph John).

2. James, 1700–48, English poet, born in Scotland.

3. James ( “B.V.” ), 1834–82, English poet.

4. John Arthur, 1861–1933, Scottish scientist and author.

5. Sir Joseph John, 1856–1940, English physicist.

6. Virgil, 1896–1989, U.S. composer and music critic.

7. Sir William, Kelvin, 1st Baron.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	Thomson - United States composer who collaborated with Gertrude Stein (1896-1989) Virgil Garnett Thomson, Virgil Thomson
	2.	Thomson - United States electrical engineer (born in England) who in 1892 formed a company with Thomas Edison (1853-1937) Elihu Thomson
	3.	Thomson - English physicist (son of Joseph John Thomson) who was a co-discoverer of the diffraction of electrons by crystals (1892-1975) George Paget Thomson, Sir George Paget Thomson
	4.	Thomson - English physicist who experimented with the conduction of electricity through gases and who discovered the electron and determined its charge and mass (1856-1940) Joseph John Thomson, Sir Joseph John Thomson

References in classic literature ?

"Ronnie," she said, "I don't know whether you have met Surgeon-Major Thomson in France?

"I may not have met you personally," Granet admitted, "but if you are the Surgeon-Major Thomson who has been doing such great things with the Field Hospitals at the front, then like nearly every poor crock out there I owe you a peculiar debt of gratitude.

Major Thomson bowed, and a moment later they all made their way along the corridor, across the restaurant, searched for their names on the cards and took their places at the table which had been reserved for them.

Cunningham, the woman whom her hostess had referred to as being her particular friend, and one who shared her passion for entertaining, chatted fitfully to her neighbour, Major Thomson. It was not until luncheon was more than half-way through that she realised the one-sidedness of their conversation.

View in context

Thomson were to come out, we might find that we had burned our fingers.

"But this would seem to involve my meeting the man Thomson?" says he, when I had done.

Thomson: I know nothing against him; and if I did -- mark this, Mr.

View in context

There is marked progress in romantic feeling and power of expression as we pass from Thomson to his disciple, the frail lyric poet, William Collins.

JAMES THOMSON. The first author in whom the new impulse found really definite expression was the Scotsman James Thomson.

'The Seasons' was received with enthusiasm not only in England but in France and Germany, and it gave an impulse for the writing of descriptive poetry which lasted for a generation; but Thomson's romantic achievement, though important, is tentative and incomplete, like that of all beginners.

Both were enormously popular and, crossing the Channel, like Thomson's poetic innovation, exerted a great influence on the drama of France and Germany (especially in the work of Lessing), and in general on the German Romantic Movement.

View in context

I read it with a tempered pleasure, and with a vague resentment of its trespass upon Thomson's ground in the division of its parts under the names of the seasons.