antidiastatic
|an-ti-di-a-stat-ic|
/ˌæn.ti.daɪ.əˈstæt.ɪk/
against diastase / prevents separation
Etymology
'antidiastatic' originates from the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti-' meaning 'against') combined with 'diastatic,' which comes from Greek 'diastasis' meaning 'separation' or 'a parting'.
'diastatic' comes from Greek 'diastasis' → Medieval/Neo-Latin adoption (e.g. 'diastasis') → English 'diastatic'; the modern English compound 'antidiastatic' was formed by adding the prefix 'anti-' to 'diastatic'.
Initially formed to mean 'against separation' or 'opposed to diastasis'; over time it has taken on the more specialized modern sense 'inhibiting diastase enzymes (preventing starch breakdown)' or generally 'preventing separation'.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Adjective 1
inhibiting or preventing diastasis or the action of diastase enzymes (i.e., preventing the enzymatic breakdown of starch) or, more generally, preventing separation or splitting.
The laboratory added an antidiastatic agent to the sample to stop further starch breakdown.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/10/24 17:15