Sublimation
/ˌsʌblɪˈmeɪʃən/noun
The process of changing directly from a solid into a gas, or the psychological redirection of instinctual energy into socially acceptable forms.
Did you know?The term entered English through alchemy and early chemistry, where sublimation described a substance ‘rising’ into vapor, from Latin sublimare, ‘to raise up,’ a cousin of the same root behind ‘sublime.’
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*h₂el-
“to grow, rise, or be tall”
Latin
Latin
sublimis
“uplifted, high, lofty”
Latin
Latin
sublimare
“to raise up, elevate”
Late Latin
Latin
sublimatio
“an elevating or raising up”
14th Century
English
sublimacioun
“the act of purifying or refining a substance by heat”
Modern English
English
sublimation
“direct transition from solid to gas; psychological redirection of impulses”