azeotropy
|a-ze-o-tro-py|
🇺🇸
/ˌeɪziˈoʊtrəpi/
🇬🇧
/ˌeɪziˈəʊtrəpi/
constant‑boiling mixture property
Etymology
'azeotropy' originates from New Latin/Modern scientific coinage ultimately built from Greek roots, specifically the Greek words 'azein' meaning 'to boil' and 'tropos' meaning 'turn' or 'change'.
'azeotropy' changed from the New Latin/Latinized form 'azeotropum' and the French scientific term 'azeotrope' into English; the English noun 'azeotropy' (with the suffix '-y') developed to denote the property or phenomenon associated with an 'azeotrope'.
Initially the root terms referred to boiling/turning and the term 'azeotrope' was used for the constant-boiling mixture itself; over time 'azeotropy' came to be used specifically for the property or phenomenon of forming such a constant-boiling composition.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the property of a liquid mixture in which the vapor and liquid phases have the same composition at a particular boiling point; the phenomenon by which a mixture forms a constant-boiling composition (an azeotrope), making separation by simple distillation impossible at that composition.
Azeotropy complicates separation by simple distillation because at the azeotropy point the vapor and liquid compositions are identical.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/12/07 00:42