Gelatinisation

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The process by which a material such as starch is transformed into a jelly-like colloidal state when heated in water
2. The conversion of a substance into a gel, especially starch granules swelling and thickening when heated with moisture
3. Thickening and setting of starch or similar compounds into a gel through heating in the presence of water

Etymology: Gelatinisation is a plain formation: the noun "gelatin" with the suffix "-isation," the British spelling of "-ization," which turns a noun or adjective into a word meaning a process of becoming or being made into that thing. Put together, it names the act of making something turn into a gel, or into the gelatinous state. The base word has its own history worth knowing. "Gelatin" comes from the Latin "gelatus," the past participle of "gelare," meaning "to freeze," so the root itself carries the idea of stiffening and congealing. The suffix "-ise," from Greek "-izein" through Latin and French, adds the sense of "make into" or "undergo," so the whole word describes a change of state.

Synonyms: gelation, gelling

Antonyms: liquefaction