Etymology

hydrolysis

H4Y4D2R1O1L1Y4S1I1S1

Today it means: A chemical process of decomposition involving the splitting of a bond and the addition of the hydrogen cation and the hydroxide anion of water. Full definition →

Ancient Greek λῠ́σῐς (lŭ́sĭs) ← Proto-Indo-European *lewh₁- ← English hydro-
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*wed-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*wódr̥
  3. Proto-Hellenic*údōr
  4. Ancient Greekῡ̆̔́δωρ (hū̆́dōr)
  5. Ancient Greekῠ̔δρο- (hŭdro-)
  6. Englishhydro-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*lewh₁-
  8. Ancient Greekλύω (lúō)
  9. Ancient Greekλῠ́σῐς (lŭ́sĭs)
  10. English todayhydrolysis

From hydro- + -lysis.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.