Dimerise

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Combining two identical molecules to form a single larger paired molecule called a dimer
2. Linking a pair of similar molecular units together so that they bond into one dimer structure
3. Causing two molecules of the same kind to bind chemically and form a dimer compound

Etymology: "Dimerise" is a straightforward chemistry coinage: it joins "dimer", a molecule made of two identical smaller units bonded together, with the suffix "-ise", meaning to make or to become. To dimerise is therefore to link two identical molecules into one larger molecule. The suffix has a long ancestry. It comes from the Ancient Greek ending "-ízein", which turned verbs into forms meaning to do or to make something, and it passed through Late Latin "-izare" and Old French "-iser" before reaching Middle English as "-isen". English then used it freely to build new verbs, and it remains one of the most productive endings for scientific vocabulary. The "dimer" half is a modern formation built from the Greek prefix "di-", meaning two, and the Greek "meros", meaning part. Chemists used this combination to name molecules made of two parts, and "dimerise" followed as the verb for the process by which those parts join.

Synonyms: dimerize