amine-decomposing
|a-mine-de-com-pos-ing|
🇺🇸
/əˈmiːn ˌdiːkəmˈpoʊzɪŋ/
🇬🇧
/əˈmiːn ˌdiːkəmˈpəʊzɪŋ/
breaks down amines
Etymology
'amine-decomposing' originates from modern English as a compound of 'amine' and the present participle 'decomposing' (from the verb 'decompose'). 'Amine' was coined in 19th-century chemistry from 'ammonia' + suffix '-ine'.
'decompose' comes from Latin 'decomponere' ('de-' meaning 'off, away' + 'componere' meaning 'to put together') via Old French and Middle English; the verb's sense shifted to 'separate into parts' and later to 'break down chemically'. 'Amine' was formed in modern chemical nomenclature in the 1800s from 'ammonia'.
Initially 'decompose' meant 'to undo composition' or 'separate into parts'; over time it evolved to the modern chemical sense 'to break down (a substance) into simpler components'. The term 'amine' has remained tied to nitrogen-containing compounds but became standardized as a class name in organic chemistry.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
capable of breaking down or causing the breakdown of amines (organic compounds containing an amino group); that decomposes amines.
Researchers isolated an amine-decomposing bacterium from contaminated soil.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Adjective 2
causing the decomposition of amines as a description of a process or agent (e.g., enzyme, catalyst, microbe).
The amine-decomposing enzyme accelerated the removal of amino groups from the substrate.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/08/29 14:21