depolymerize

English

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *de

Proto-Indo-European *-h₁

Proto-Indo-European *déh₁

Proto-Italic *dē

Latin dē

Latin dē-der.

English de-

Proto-Indo-European *pleh₁-der.

Proto-Indo-European *polh₁ús

Ancient Greek πολῠ́ς (polŭ́s)lbor.

English poly-

Proto-Indo-European *(s)mer-

Proto-Indo-European *-os

Proto-Indo-European *(s)méros

Proto-Hellenic *(h)méros

Ancient Greek μέρος (méros)lbor.

English -mer

English polymer

Proto-Indo-European *-id-

Proto-Indo-European *-yéti

Proto-Indo-European *-idyéti

Proto-Hellenic *-íd͏̌d͏̌ō

Ancient Greek -ῐ́ζω (-ĭ́zō)bor.

Late Latin -izōder.

Middle French -iserbor.

Middle English -isen

English -ize

English polymerize

English depolymerize

From de- + polymerize.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /diːˈpɒlɪməɹaɪz/

Verb

depolymerize (third-person singular simple present depolymerizes, present participle depolymerizing, simple past and past participle depolymerized)

1. (chemistry) To decompose a polymer into smaller fragments.

Derived terms

• depolymerizer

Related terms

• depolymerizable
• depolymerization
• polymerize