Megahertzes

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A unit of frequency equal to one million hertz, used to measure electromagnetic waves and audio signals
2. This term quantifies cycles per second at a rate of one million
3. Often applied in contexts related to radio frequencies and sound wave phenomena

Etymology: "Megahertzes" is simply the plural of "megahertz," a unit equal to one million hertz, and the plural form is one of the few unit names in English that takes the -es ending. The first half of the word, "mega-," comes from Ancient Greek "mégas," meaning "great" or "large," and entered scientific use as a prefix meaning one million. The second half honours the German physicist Heinrich Hertz, whose surname became the unit name for frequency measured in cycles per second. Because the word is a compound of a Greek prefix and a personal name, it is a modern technical formation rather than an ancient one. Its meaning is fixed: it counts oscillations, such as radio waves or sound vibrations, at a rate of one million per second.

Synonyms: megahertz, MHz