Iodimetry

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A method for determining the concentration of iodine in a solution through titration
2. A quantitative analysis technique using iodine to assess the amount of a substance present
3. The scientific process of measuring iodine levels to evaluate various chemical compositions

Etymology: Iodimetry is a chemistry term, and its history is plain: it is built from "iodine" plus the Greek-derived suffix "-metry," meaning measurement, so it literally means "measurement by iodine." The element iodine was discovered in 1811 by the French chemist Bernard Courtois, who noticed a violet vapour while processing seaweed ash for saltpetre, and it was named in 1813 by Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac from the Greek "iodes," meaning violet-coloured. The "-metry" element comes from Greek "metron," measure, the same root that gives "meter" and "geometry." Chemists began attaching it to names of analytical methods in the 19th century, which is how the term took shape as a formal label for titrations in which iodine is the reagent. The word is a modern technical coinage, so it does not have an ancient or colloquial history to trace.