Nonstick

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Describing a surface treatment that inhibits adhesion of food during cooking
2. Characterizing a material that enables easy removal of items without leaving behind residues
3. Having a coating or texture that stops substances from clinging during cooking or contact

Etymology: Nonstick is a plain compound: the prefix "non-", meaning "not", attached to "stick." The prefix comes from Old English "nān," meaning "not one" or "none," which was later shortened to "non-" in Middle English. "Stick" traces back through Old English "stician" and a Proto-Germanic root meaning to pierce or stab, which is why a stick once described something that pierced and held fast. So the sense is literal: a surface that does not hold fast to what touches it. The word is a modern formation, built from the two existing pieces "non-" and "stick" rather than inherited whole from an older source, and it is an ordinary English coinage of the sort made when a new product or quality needs a name.

Synonyms: slick, smooth, coated, slippery, resistant

Antonyms: sticky, adhesive, tacky, clingy, tenacious