Catalysis
/kəˈtæl.ə.sɪs/noun
The process of increasing the rate of a chemical reaction by a substance that is not consumed in the reaction.
Did you know?The word was coined in the 1830s by Jöns Jakob Berzelius from Greek roots, and its ancient imagery is about breaking things loose rather than creating them from nothing.
Etymological Timeline
Ancient Greek
Greek
katalysis
“a loosening, dissolution, or breaking apart”
Ancient Greek
Greek
kata- + lysis
“down, completely + a loosening or releasing”
1830s
English
catalysis
“Berzelius’s term for the acceleration of a chemical reaction by a substance that remains unchanged”
Modern English
English
catalysis
“the acceleration of a chemical reaction by a catalyst”