Meanings
nounphotolysis (uncountable)
- uncountablechemistryAny chemical reaction in which a compound is decomposed after absorbing a photon.
Origin
- Ancient Greekφωτ-
- Englishphotolysis
From Ancient Greek φωτ- (phōt-), root of φῶς (phôs, “light”) + λύσις (lúsis, “decomposition”). By surface analysis, photo- + -lysis.
More words from Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 光解
- 光解 (guāngjiě)chemical reaction
French photolyse
- photolysechemical reaction
German Photolyse
- Photolysechemical reaction
Greek φωτόλυση
- φωτόλυση (fotólysi)chemical reaction
Irish fótalú
- fótalúchemical reaction
Polish fotoliza
- fotolizachemical reaction
Russian фотóлиз
- фотóлиз (fotóliz)chemical reaction
Spanish fotólisis
- fotólisischemical reaction
Tagalog sugabilos
- sugabiloschemical reaction
Cite this entry
APA
photolysis. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/photolysis
MLA
“photolysis.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/photolysis. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “photolysis,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/photolysis.
Source: photolysis on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.