Standard Lemma guide

photoconductivity

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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1

noun

Meaning 1

The increase in the electrical conductivity of a material as a result of incident electromagnetic radiation.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

Topics: natural-sciences, physical-sciences, physics

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

change in the electrical conductivity of a substance as a result of absorbing electromagnetic radiation

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: photoconduction

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: electrical conduction

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *bheh2- Proto-Indo-European *bhéh2os Proto-Hellenic *pháwos Ancient Greek φᾰ́ος (phắos) Ancient Greek φῶς (phôs) Ancient Greek φωτο- (phōto-)der. English photo- English conduct Proto-Indo-European *-wós Proto-Indo-European *-iHwósder. Latin -īvus Old French -ifbor. Middle English -yf English -ive English conductive Proto-Indo-European *-teh2 Proto-Indo-European *-ts Proto-Indo-European *-teh2ts Latin -itāsder. Old French -itebor. Middle English -ite English -ity English conductivity English photoconductivity From photo- + conductivity.

Across languages

Translations

11 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: фотопроводимост (fotoprovodimost) — an increase in the electrical conductivity of a material as a result of incident electromagnetic radiation
  • Chinese Mandarin: 光傳導率 /光传导率 (guāng chuándǎo lǜ) — an increase in the electrical conductivity of a material as a result of incident electromagnetic radiation
  • Chinese Mandarin: 光導增益 /光导增益 (guāngdǎo zēngyì) — an increase in the electrical conductivity of a material as a result of incident electromagnetic radiation
  • French: photoconductivité — an increase in the electrical conductivity of a material as a result of incident electromagnetic radiation
  • German: Photoleitfähigkeit — an increase in the electrical conductivity of a material as a result of incident electromagnetic radiation
  • Irish: fótaisheoltacht — an increase in the electrical conductivity of a material as a result of incident electromagnetic radiation
  • Italian: fotoconduttività — an increase in the electrical conductivity of a material as a result of incident electromagnetic radiation
  • Italian: fotoresistenza — an increase in the electrical conductivity of a material as a result of incident electromagnetic radiation
  • Japanese: 光導電性 (hikaridōdensei) — an increase in the electrical conductivity of a material as a result of incident electromagnetic radiation
  • Polish: fotoprzewodnictwo — an increase in the electrical conductivity of a material as a result of incident electromagnetic radiation
  • Russian: фотопроводи́мость (fotoprovodímostʹ) — an increase in the electrical conductivity of a material as a result of incident electromagnetic radiation