enthalpy

E1N1T1H4A1L1P3Y4
/ˈɛn.θəl.piː/

noun

A measure of the heat content of a chemical or physical system.

“H=U+pV, where H is enthalpy, U is internal energy, p is pressure, and V is volume.”

Similar
heat contenttotal heatH
OriginAncient Greek ἐν- →
Less commonScrabble 16
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Word of the Day · Dec 21, 2022

Meanings

nounenthalpy (countable and uncountable, plural enthalpies)

plural enthalpies

  1. countablephysicaluncountablechemistryA measure of the heat content of a chemical or physical system.

    H=U+pV, where H is enthalpy, U is internal energy, p is pressure, and V is volume.

Synonyms & antonyms

noun(thermodynamics) a thermodynamic quantity equal to the internal energy of a system plus the product of its volume and pressure

Similar
heat contenttotal heatH
Broader
physical property
Also see
h

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekἐν-“in”
  2. Englishenthalpy

From Ancient Greek ἐν- (en-, “in”) + θάλπω (thálpō, “to warm”). Coined by Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes, but first used in print by J. P. Dalton in 1909 in a paper titled "Researches on the Joule-Kelvin-effect, especially at low temperatures".

More words from Ancient Greek

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Basque entalpia
  • entalpiaa measure of the heat content
Catalan entalpia
  • entalpiaa measure of the heat content
Chinese Mandarin 焓
  • 焓 (hán)a measure of the heat content
Danish entalpi
  • entalpia measure of the heat content
Esperanto entalpio
  • entalpioa measure of the heat content
Finnish entalpia, lämpösisältö
  • entalpiaa measure of the heat content
  • lämpösisältöa measure of the heat content
French enthalpie
  • enthalpiea measure of the heat content
German Enthalpie
  • Enthalpiea measure of the heat content
Greek ενθαλπία
  • ενθαλπία (enthalpía)a measure of the heat content
Hindi एंथैल्पी, पूर्ण ऊष्मा
  • एंथैल्पी (enthailpī)a measure of the heat content
  • पूर्ण ऊष्मा (pūrṇ ūṣmā)a measure of the heat content
Hungarian entalpia
  • entalpiaa measure of the heat content
Indonesian entalpi
  • entalpia measure of the heat content
Japanese エンタルピー
  • エンタルピー (entarupī)a measure of the heat content
Māori hāwera
  • hāweraa measure of the heat content
Norwegian entalpi
  • entalpia measure of the heat content
Persian آنتالپی
  • آنتالپی (ântâlpi)a measure of the heat content
Polish entalpia, zawartość cieplna
  • entalpiaa measure of the heat content
  • zawartość cieplnaa measure of the heat content
Portuguese entalpia
  • entalpiaa measure of the heat content
Russian энтальпи́я
  • энтальпи́я (entalʹpíja)a measure of the heat content
Spanish entalpía
  • entalpíaa measure of the heat content
Swedish entalpi
  • entalpia measure of the heat content
Tagalog sanginit
  • sanginita measure of the heat content
Thai เอนทาลปี, เอนทัลปี
  • เอนทาลปี (een-tao-bpii)a measure of the heat content
  • เอนทัลปี (een-tao-bpii)a measure of the heat content
Turkish entalpi, ısı kapsamı
  • entalpia measure of the heat content
  • ısı kapsamıa measure of the heat content
Vietnamese entanpi
  • entanpia measure of the heat content
Cite this entry
APA

enthalpy. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enthalpy

MLA

“enthalpy.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enthalpy. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “enthalpy,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/enthalpy.

Source: enthalpy on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.