Etymology

photophysical

P3H4O1T1O1P3H4Y4S1I1C3A1L1

Today it means: Describing photoexcitation and any subsequent process that does not involve any chemical change Full definition →

English physical ← 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. Englishphysical
  9. English todayphotophysical

From photo- + physical.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.