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enzymology

enzymology

1 9.3
The study of enzymes, the proteins that speed up chemical reactions in living things
  • noun
  • /ˌɛnzaɪˈmɒlədʒi/
  • Specialized
: enzimología
  • The study of enzymology is essential for understanding how enzymes help accelerate chemical reactions in living organisms.

Examples

  • Scientists specializing in enzymology examine how various enzymes interact with their target molecules.

  • Even in the scatter, in fields so diverse as enzymology and population genetics, some of Haldane's insights were of remarkable depth.

    Academic text (1992)
  • In her course on enzymology, the professor detailed the mechanisms by which enzymes facilitate metabolic reactions.

Surface Forms

enzymology singular
enzymologies plural

Morphology

enzymology = enzyme (transparent) = enzyme + logy

This is a straightforward suffixation of enzyme with the learned suffix -logy meaning 'study of'.

Etymology

Enzymology joins enzyme and -logy. The word enzyme comes from old Greek parts meaning 'in' and 'yeast' (think 'in yeast'), and -logy means 'study', as in biology, so enzymology is the study of the tiny helpers in living things that speed up chemical reactions.