Dissolvent

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A material that causes other substances to decompose or disintegrate
2. A chemical agent that breaks down a compound by causing it to disintegrate into smaller parts
3. A liquid or material that facilitates the breaking apart and dispersion of a solid or compound

Etymology: "Dissolvent" comes from Latin "dissolvēns," the present participle of "dissolvere," meaning "to loosen apart." The Latin verb combines "dis-," meaning "apart," with "solvere," meaning "to loosen or release," a root that also gave English "solve" and "resolve." Its basic image is of something tied together being untied until the parts come free. English borrowed the word from that Latin participle, and it has kept the sense of an agent doing the loosening. Where "solvent" names the liquid that does the dissolving, "dissolvent" carries the same idea in a slightly more formal register. The two words share a root, so a reader who knows one will recognise the other at once.

Synonyms: solvent