photolyse

P3H4O1T1O1L1Y4S1E1

verb

To cause photolysis.

OriginEnglish lyse ← Ancient Greek φωτο- (phōto-) ← Proto-Hellenic *pʰáwos →
Scrabble 17
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Meanings

verbphotolyse (third-person singular simple present photolyses, present participle photolysing, simple past and past participle photolysed)

present singular third person photolyses · participle present photolysing · participle past photolysed · past photolysed · alternative photolyze

  1. To cause photolysis.

    Then, fluorophores were photolysed by a high-intensity light pulse and influx was monitored at the initial low beam power.

    1986, I. Lang et al., “Molecular mobility and nucleocytoplasmic flux in hepatoma cells”, in Journal of Cell Biology, volume 102

Origin

  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. Englishlyse
  9. Englishphotolyse

From photo- + lyse.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

photolyse. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/photolyse

MLA

“photolyse.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/photolyse. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “photolyse,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/photolyse.

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