词根词缀：-ase

【来源及含义】Greek: a suffix indicating an enzyme

【相关描述】From Greek diastasis and then (diast)ase, separation, interval [from dia-, through, apart, plus stasis, a standing]; an amylase that converts starch to maltose. Added to the name of a substance it usually indicates an enzyme that hydrolyzes that substance; for example, proteinases hydrolyze proteins and asparaginase hydrolyzes asparagine.

This suffix is also described as the termination denoting an enzyme, suffixed to the name of the substance (substrate) upon which the enzyme acts; e.g., phosphatase, lipase, and proteinase. It may also indicate the reaction catalyzed, e.g., decarboxylase and oxidase. Enzymes named before the convention was established generally have an -in ending; e.g., pepsin, ptyalin, and trypsin.

【同源单词】anhydrase, colipase, creatinase, cyclase, dextrase, glutaminase

词根词缀：galvano-, galvan-

【来源及含义】Named after the Italian physician and physicist who investigated the nature and effects of what he conceived to be electricity in animal tissue; who in 1762 discovered and first described voltaic electricity; electric currents; and primarily, direct electrical current.

【相关词根词缀】 A cross reference of word units that are related, directly and/or indirectly, with "electricity": electro-; hodo-; ion-; piezo-; -tron; volt; biomechatronics, info; mechatronics, info.

【同源单词】electrolysis, Galvani, galvanic, galvanic battery, galvanic corrosion, galvanic couple

词根词缀：gehenna-

【来源及含义】Hebrew > Greek > Latin: hell or hellfire

【相关描述】Moloch [MOH luhk] or Molech (Hebrew, melech: king). He was the god of the Ammonites, to whom children were made "to pass through the fire" as sacrifices. Children were dedicated ("passed over") and burned to Molech at the Tophet in the Valley of Hinnom near Jerusalem.

During the monarchical period of the Hebrews, the site was an infamous high place (called "topheth" and derived from an Aramaic word meaning "fireplace"), where some of the kings of Judah engaged in forbidden religious practices, including human sacrifice by fire; as mentioned earlier.

Probably because of these associations with fiery destruction and judgment, the word "Gehenna" came to be used metaphorically as a designation for hell or eternal damnation. As such, Gehenna is to be distinguished from Hades, which is either the bode of all the dead in general or the place where the wicked await the final judgment. In the New Testament, Gehenna designates the place or state of the final punishment of the wicked. It is variously described as a fiery furnace, an unquenchable fire, or an eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

【相关词根词缀】 Cross references of word groups that are related, directly, indirectly, or partly to: "fire, burn, glow, or ashes": ars-, ard-; -bust; cand-, cend-; caust-, caut-; crema-; ciner-; ether-; flagr-; flam-; focus, foci-; fulg-; ign-; phleg-; phlog-; pyreto-, -pyrexia; pyr-; spod- (ashes; waste); volcan-.

【同源单词】gehenna, gehenne, gehennical

词根词缀：grapho-, graph-, -graph, -graphy, -grapher, -graphia

【来源及含义】Greek: to scratch; to write, to record, to draw, to describe; that which is written or described

【相关描述】As indicated at the bottom of this page, there are a significantly large number of graphic word-entry groups in this unit. Such an extensive listing is provided to show how important the grapho- element is to the English language.

【相关词根词缀】Related "writing" word units: glypto-; gram-; scrib-, script-.

【同源单词】abdominal aortography, accelerograph, acoustic agraphia, acrography, actinograph, actinography

词根词缀：loutro-, loutr-

【来源及含义】Greek: bath, bathing

【相关描述】A discussion about the above words appeared in the April 19, 1993, issue of The Christian Science Monitor in an article, "Dictionary Service Answers Questions About Words" (page 14) that described an organization known as "OWLS" [Oxford Word and Language Service]. One writer wrote, "Please can you tell me the word for a person who drinks their [sic] own bath water, as opposed to one who drinks another's bath water?" These words do not exist in any dictionary. Part of the OWLS' reply read: "As the concept is not central to European civilization, I am not surprised that it has failed to find a place in dictionaries. If words for this are needed in the future, then autoloutrophilist and alloloutrophilist are waiting in the wings for their brief flash of celebrity."

【同源单词】autoloutrophilist, louter, loutrophoros