Hydrolase

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈhaɪdɹəleɪz/

Definitions

1. An enzymatic protein that catalyzes the hydrolysis of chemical bonds in various substrates
2. A type of enzyme responsible for breaking down compounds by adding water, facilitating biochemical reactions
3. A biological catalyst that promotes the cleavage of bonds in molecules through the addition of water, aiding metabolic processes

Etymology: Hydrolase is a modern scientific coinage, built in English from Greek pieces rather than inherited from ancient texts. Its first element, "hydro-", comes from Greek "hudōr", meaning water, which also gives us "hydrant" and "dehydrate". The middle element is "-lysis", from Greek "lusis", a loosening or dissolving, from "luein", to loosen. Together, "hydrolysis" names the splitting of a chemical bond by adding water, and that is the process this group of enzymes drives. The final piece, "-ase", is the suffix chemists use for enzymes. It was taken from "diastase", the name given in 1833 to the first enzyme ever isolated, found in germinating barley. Its name was built from Greek "dia-" and "stasis", and the suffix stuck, so any protein named for the reaction it speeds up ends in "-ase". Hydrolase is therefore a label that tells a chemist both what the enzyme does and that it is an enzyme.