Lyophilising

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. Preserving a material by freezing it and then removing its water through sublimation in a vacuum so it stays stable when dry
2. Drying something by first freezing it and then extracting the ice under low pressure, leaving a lightweight preserved product
3. Treating a substance through freeze-drying, a process that removes moisture by turning frozen water directly into vapour

Etymology: Lyophilising is the British spelling of "lyophilizing", the process of freezing a substance and then removing its water by sublimation under vacuum, a method used to preserve things such as vaccines, antibiotics and coffee. The word is built from two Greek elements: "lyo-", from "lyein", meaning to loosen or dissolve, and "-philic", from "philos", meaning loving or attracted to. Together they describe a substance that has an affinity for a solvent, which here is the water that the process is designed to remove. The verb "lyophilise" is formed from these elements with the English suffix "-ise", which is how the word becomes a verb meaning to freeze-dry. The "-ing" ending is simply the present participle and gerund form of that verb, so the word names both the ongoing action and the process itself.

Synonyms: freeze-dry, lyophilize