Synthesis

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /ˈsɪnθəsɪs/

Definitions

1. The combination of separate elements or substances to form a coherent whole, or the production of a substance from simpler materials through chemical or biological processes
2. The process of combining various components or ideas to create a unified entity, or the creation of more complex substances from simpler precursors through chemical means
3. The act of merging distinct elements or concepts into a single coherent form, or the generation of complex materials from basic building blocks in a scientific manner

Etymology: The Greek word "sunthesis" was a putting together, and its parts are plain: "sun" meant "together" and "thesis" came from "tithenai," "to place or set." So a synthesis was, quite literally, things set down side by side. The noun was built on the verb "suntithenai," "to put together, combine," which is itself a compound of "sun" and "tithemi," "I place." Latin took the Greek noun almost unchanged as "synthesis," and English borrowed it from there. The word's life in English began in the language of logic and grammar before spreading into chemistry, where it came to mean building a compound from simpler substances, and into music, philosophy and beyond. Its close relative "sandhi," a term from Sanskrit grammar for sound changes at word boundaries, is a doublet of it, meaning the two words descend from the same Greek source by separate routes.

Synonyms: combination, integration, unification, fusion, amalgamation

Antonyms: analysis, separation, division, disintegration, fragmentation