Catalysis

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /kəˈtæləsɪs/

Definitions

1. The process of speeding up a chemical reaction by adding a substance that remains unchanged after the reaction is complete
2. A process in which a substance accelerates a chemical or biological reaction without being consumed or permanently altered in the process
3. The acceleration of a reaction rate through the introduction of an agent that facilitates the process yet remains chemically unchanged

Etymology: The word's Greek root meant something quite physical: "katálusis" was "dissolution" or "a loosening down," built from "katá" ("down") and "lúein" ("to loose" or "to untie"). To break something apart, in other words, was the idea at its heart. The chemical sense came much later, when scientists needed a name for a process they could observe but not fully explain. Over time the notion of loosening or dissolving gave way to something stranger: a substance that speeds a reaction along without being used up in it. The shift from taking things apart to quietly making them happen faster is the step that makes the modern meaning so unusual. The "cata-" in the word is a Greek prefix, and "-lysis" comes from the same stem as English words like "analysis," which is why the term sounds like a relative of those words. Both share the notion of loosening something into its parts.

Synonyms: acceleration, facilitation, activation, enhancement, promotion