synthesize

Etymology

It is formed from English synthesis + -ize,^[2][3][4][5] a blend of the two in Merriam-Webster Unabridged's description.^[6] The OED and Etymonline note that the regular form is synthetize, which keeps the t of the Greek stem; the OED records it from 1828–32, in Noah Webster's dictionary.^[2][4] The noun synthesis is from Latin synthesis (“collection; composition”), from Ancient Greek σύνθεσις (súnthesis, “a putting together, composition”),^[2][7][4] from συντίθημι (suntíthēmi, “to put together, combine”), formed from συν- (sun-, “together”) and τίθημι (títhēmi, “to set, place”),^[7][4][1] from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeh₁- (“to set, put”).^[4][7]

Earliest recorded meaning

To put together or combine into a complex whole: 1830, in Fraser's Magazine.^[2][6] Etymonline dates the verb to 1825,^[4] and Dictionary.com to 1820–30.^[5]

Semantic evolution

The verb was first used in philosophy and general writing, as the opposite of analyse, for combining ideas or parts into a whole.^[2][3] In 1865 chemists began to speak of synthesizing a compound, building it up from simpler substances,^[2][3] and in 1921 biologists used it of producing a new form by mating like mutants.^[2] Merriam-Webster Unabridged also records the sense of producing music or sound on an electronic synthesizer.^[6] Etymonline notes that the more correct synthetize has been used in the sciences and linguistics since at least the 19th century for "to unite in regular structure".^[4]

Timeline

• 1830 – to combine into a complex whole.^[2][6]
• 1865 – (chemistry) to produce a compound by synthesis.^[2]
• 1921 – (biology) to build up a new form by mating like mutants.^[2]

Meanings

Verb

1. To combine separate parts, ideas or elements into a coherent whole: She synthesized three reports into one brief.^[8][6][2]
2. (chemistry) To produce a compound by chemical synthesis, especially from simpler substances.^[8][6][3][2]
3. To produce music or sound electronically with a synthesizer.^[6]
4. (intransitive) To make a synthesis.^[6][2]
5. (biology) To build up a new species or form by mating like mutants.^[2]

Word family

• synthesization
• photosynthesize
• resynthesize
• synthesizer

Related words

• synthesis
• synthetic
• synthetize
• thesis
• hypothesize

Usage notes

The British spelling is synthesise;^[6][3][8] Collins also lists synthetize and synthetise, and the OED considers synthetize the correct form.^[8][2]

References

1. ^ a b Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Oxford English Dictionary Online (accessed March 2026), Oxford: Oxford University Press
3. ^ a b c d e Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2002), 5th ed., ed. William R. Trumble and Angus Stevenson, Oxford: Oxford University Press
4. ^ a b c d e f g Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
5. ^ a b Dictionary.com Unabridged (2016), based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, New York: Random House
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
7. ^ a b c The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (online 2024), 5th ed., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
8. ^ a b c d Collins English Dictionary (2023), Glasgow: HarperCollins