antiurease
|an-ti-u-rease|
/ˌæn.ti.jʊəˈriː.eɪs/
against urease / urease inhibitor
Etymology
'antiurease' originates from the Greek-derived prefix 'anti-' meaning 'against' combined with the enzyme name 'urease' (formed from 'urea' + the enzyme suffix '-ase'); 'anti-' meant 'against', 'urea' ultimately comes from Greek 'ouron' meaning 'urine', and '-ase' is a modern biochemical suffix denoting enzymes.
'urease' was coined in biochemical nomenclature by combining 'urea' with the enzyme suffix '-ase' in the late 19th to early 20th century; the productive prefix 'anti-' has long been used in English to indicate opposition, and modern scientific English combined them to form 'antiurease' to denote agents acting against urease.
Initially, the element components simply conveyed 'against' + 'urease'; over time the combined term has come to be used specifically in scientific and technical contexts to name compounds, formulations, or properties that inhibit urease activity.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
a substance or agent that inhibits the enzyme urease; an urease inhibitor.
The team screened several compounds and identified a potent antiurease effective at low concentrations.
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Adjective 1
having the property of inhibiting urease activity; used to describe compounds or treatments that reduce urease function.
They developed an antiurease formulation for agricultural use to limit nitrogen loss from fertilizer.
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Last updated: 2025/09/12 02:02