Etymologically
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catalyst

This is the current revision of this entry, as edited by bogdan on 22 October 2026 at 21:49. This address is a permanent link to this version.
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Pronunciation

  • UK: /ˈkæt.ɪ.lɪst/[1]
  • US: /ˈkæt.ə.lɪst/[1]

Etymology

It was formed in English from catalysis on the pattern of analysis and analyst,[2][3][4][5]; the OED analyses it differently: from English cata- + -lyst, after catalysis.[6] Catalysis is catalysis, from Ancient Greek κατάλυσις (katálusis, “dissolution”),[4][7][8] from καταλύω (katalúō, “to dissolve”), from κατά (katá, “down; completely”) and λύω (lúō, “to loosen”),[9][10][3] from Proto-Indo-European *lewH- (“to loosen, cut apart”).[9][10] The Swedish chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius gave catalysis its chemical sense in 1836.[11][6]

Earliest recorded meaning

A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself being changed: 1902, in the journal Nature,[6][2][3] 1900 in Etymonline.[9]

Semantic evolution

The noun catalysis had meant dissolution or destruction in English (1655–60) before Berzelius's chemical use of 1836;[6][11] catalytic (1836) and catalyze (1890) preceded catalyst.[11] The figurative sense, a person or thing that brings about or speeds up a change, is recorded by 1943.[9][4]

Timeline

  • 1655 – catalysis, dissolution.[6][11]
  • 1836 – catalysis in chemistry (Berzelius); catalytic.[6][11]
  • 1890 – catalyze.[11]
  • 1902 – catalyst in chemistry.[6][2]
  • 1943 – figurative use.[9]

Modern meaning

Noun

  1. (chemistry) A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself being permanently changed; see catalysis.
  2. A person or event that causes or speeds up a change or action: The scandal was a catalyst for reform.

Word family

  • anticatalyst
  • biocatalyst
  • catalyze
  • catalysis
  • catalytic

References

  1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Barnhart, Robert K., ed. (1995), The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology, New York: HarperCollins
  3. ^ a b c Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  4. ^ a b c Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
  5. ^ Stevenson, Angus, ed. (2010), Oxford Dictionary of English, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  6. ^ a b c d e f g Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
  8. ^ Klein, Ernest. A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English Language. 2 vols. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 1966–1967.
  9. ^ a b c d e Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  10. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  11. ^ a b c d e f Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology