polymerization

Etymology

It is formed from English polymerize + -ation;^[2] Etymonline and Merriam-Webster analyse it as polymer + -ization,^[3][4] and Merriam-Webster counts it in the International Scientific Vocabulary.^[4][5] The OED compares French polymérisation, recorded from 1869.^[2] Polymerize is formed from poly-, -mer and -ize after polymeric and polymerism;^[2] the OED dates it to before 1855 and Etymonline to 1851.^[2][3] Polymer (1855) is probably from German Polymere, coined by Berzelius in 1830,^[3] and is compared with Ancient Greek πολυμερής (polumerḗs, “consisting of many parts”),^[2][3] formed from πολύς (polús, “many”) and μέρος (méros, “part”).^[3]

Earliest recorded meaning

Etymonline dates the word to 1866, for the property of compounds that are made of the same elements in the same proportions but differ in molecular weight and chemical properties.^[3] The OED's first quotation, for the process of polymerizing, is from the Proceedings of the Royal Society for 1869–70, published in 1870.^[2]

Semantic evolution

The earliest use named a property, the state of being polymeric, which the OED still records beside the process.^[3][2] The process sense, the formation of polymers from smaller molecules, is the one Merriam-Webster dates to 1870 and gives first,^[4][2] describing a reaction in which small molecules combine into larger ones made of repeating units of the original.^[4] The American Heritage Dictionary distinguishes the bonding of monomers into a polymer from the chemical process that brings it about.^[6] Kinds such as addition polymerization, condensation polymerization and copolymerization are distinguished in chemistry.^[4] British spelling also has polymerisation.^[7][4]

Timeline

• 1866 – the property of compounds of the same elements in the same proportions that differ in molecular weight and properties.^[3]
• 1870 – the process of polymerizing; the formation of polymers.^[2][4][8] Dictionary.com dates the word to 1875–80.^[9]

Meanings

Noun

1. A chemical reaction in which small molecules (monomers) bond together to form a polymer; also, the process that brings this about.^[6][4][7][2]
2. The state of being polymeric.^[2][3]

Word family

• photopolymerization
• addition polymerization
• copolymerization
• condensation polymerization

Related words

• polymerize
• polymer
• polymeric
• monomer

References

1. ^ Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
4. ^ a b c d e f g h Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
5. ^ Gove, Philip Babcock, ed. (1961), Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam
6. ^ a b The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
7. ^ a b Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins
8. ^ Kay, Christian; Roberts, Jane; Samuels, Michael; Wotherspoon, Irené, eds. (2009), Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford: Oxford University Press; online edition (2024)
9. ^ Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House