Etymology

photocleave

P3H4O1T1O1C3L1E1A1V4E1

Today it means: To cleave a bond by photolysis Full definition →

English cleave ← Ancient Greek φωτο- (phōto-) ← Proto-Hellenic *pʰáwos
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The story

  1. Proto-Indo-European*bʰeh₂-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*bʰéh₂os
  3. Proto-Hellenic*pʰáwos
  4. Ancient Greekφᾰ́ος (phắos)
  5. Ancient Greekφῶς (phôs)
  6. Ancient Greekφωτο- (phōto-)
  7. Englishphoto-
  8. Englishcleave
  9. English todayphotocleave

From photo- + cleave.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.