Peptize

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To convert a precipitate or gel into a colloidal solution by adding a small amount of electrolyte or peptizing agent
2. To disperse a solid substance into fine particles suspended in a liquid medium through the addition of a suitable peptizing agent
3. To transform a coagulated or gelatinous material into a stable colloidal dispersion by chemical treatment

Etymology: Peptize comes from the same Greek root as digestion. The Greek verb "peptein" meant to cook, digest, or ripen, and the adjective "peptos" meant cooked or digested. German chemists took that root for "peptone," the name for the protein fragments produced when digestive enzymes break down food. The verb was built from "peptone" with the suffix "-ize," which turns a noun into a verb meaning to make or treat something in a certain way. To peptize a substance is to disperse it into tiny particles that stay suspended in a liquid, a colloid, usually by adding a small amount of another substance called a peptizing agent. The link to digestion is a shared image: both processes break large, clumped material into finer pieces that can move freely.