autocorrosion
|au-to-cor-ro-sion|
🇺🇸
/ˌɔːtoʊkəˈroʊʒən/
🇬🇧
/ˌɔːtəʊkəˈrəʊʒən/
self‑eating (self-induced corrosion)
Etymology
'autocorrosion' originates from Greek and Latin: specifically the combining form 'auto-' from Greek 'αὐτός' where 'auto-' meant 'self', and 'corrosion' from Latin 'corrodere' where 'rodere' meant 'to gnaw'.
'autocorrosion' was formed in modern English by joining the Greek-derived prefix 'auto-' with the Latin-derived English noun 'corrosion' (Middle English 'corrosion' < Latin 'corrodere'), producing a compound meaning 'self-corrosion'.
Initially the roots conveyed 'self' (auto-) and 'to gnaw/consume' (corrodere); over time the combined form came to denote the modern technical sense of material degradation (chemical/electrochemical) that occurs from internal or self-driven causes.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the process by which a material (usually a metal) corrodes by mechanisms intrinsic to the material or system itself, without the need for an external corrosive agent; self-induced corrosion.
Autocorrosion in the buried pipeline occurred where stray electrical currents accelerated metal loss from within.
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Noun 2
a spontaneous electrochemical degradation process in which localized conditions (e.g., micro-galvanic cells, concentration cells, or residual stresses) cause metal deterioration without an externally applied corrosive environment.
Engineers attributed the failure to autocorrosion initiated at small weld defects, where micro-environments accelerated deterioration.
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Last updated: 2025/11/24 18:14