Bimolecular

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to interactions or processes that simultaneously involve two distinct molecules
2. Pertaining to chemical reactions that necessitate the participation of two molecular entities
3. Connected to or describing processes that consist of two molecules interacting simultaneously

Etymology: Bimolecular is a plain technical formation, built in English from "bi-", meaning two, and "molecular," the adjective from "molecule." The "molecule" part goes back to a New Latin diminutive, "molecula," a little mass, from Latin "moles," meaning mass or bulk, with the "-cula" ending that makes something small. The word "molecule" passed into English through French, and the adjective "molecular" followed from it with the common "-ar" suffix. The prefix does the real work here. "Bi-" comes from Latin, where it is the same two that appears in words like "bicycle" and "binary," and English attaches it freely to scientific adjectives. The result describes a reaction or process in which two separate molecules take part at once, as distinct from one molecule acting alone.

Synonyms: dual-molecule, two-molecule, di-molecular, bi-particulate, bifunctional