photolyze

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A form of photolyse — To cause photolysis.

OriginEnglish photo ← Ancient Greek γράφω (gráphō) ← Proto-Hellenic *grə́pʰō →
Scrabble 26
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Meanings

verbphotolyze (third-person singular simple present photolyzes, present participle photolyzing, simple past and past participle photolyzed)

present singular third person photolyzes · participle present photolyzing · participle past photolyzed · past photolyzed

  1. alternativeAlternative spelling of photolyse.

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. Proto-Indo-European*gerbʰ-
  9. Proto-Hellenic*grə́pʰō
  10. Ancient Greekγράφω (gráphō)
  11. Englishphotographclip.
  12. Englishphoto
  13. Englishphotolyze

From photo + -lyze.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

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

MLA

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

Chicago

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

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