Nonelectrolyzable

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Not capable of dissociating into ions when dissolved in a solvent, especially water, thus unable to conduct electricity in solution
2. Incapable of ionization in a solution, preventing the substance from facilitating electric current flow due to lack of charged particles
3. Describing a compound or material that does not break down into charged ions in a solvent and therefore does not act as an electrical conductor in its dissolved state

Etymology: "Nonelectrolyzable" is a technical coinage built from parts that were already in use in 19th-century chemistry. The core is "electrolyze," formed from "electro-" (from Greek "elektron," amber, because static electricity was first observed by rubbing amber) and the Greek-derived "-lyze," from "lysis," meaning loosening or breaking apart. Michael Faraday devised "electrolysis," "electrolyte," and "electrode" in the 1830s, when he needed names for the decomposition of substances by electric current. "Electrolyze" followed as the verb, and "electrolyzable" as the adjective for a substance that can be decomposed this way. The prefix "non-" and the suffix "-able" were then attached in turn. The result is a word that describes a substance such as sugar or alcohol that dissolves without splitting into ions, so it carries no current. The word is a precise laboratory term rather than an everyday one, and its exact date of first use in English is uncertain, though it would have appeared no earlier than the mid-19th century, once Faraday's vocabulary had spread.

Synonyms: non-ionizable, non-electrolytic, nonconductive

Antonyms: electrolyzable, ionizable, conductive