Enzyme

How to spell enzyme

6 letters · 2 syllables

How to pronounce enzyme

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does enzyme mean?

1. nounA protein produced by living cells that speeds up a specific biochemical reaction without being consumed by it.

Enzyme in a sentence

• The laundry powder contains an enzyme that breaks down grease stains.

• This digestive enzyme helps the body absorb fats from food.

Where does enzyme come from?

Language of origin: Greek

This is a scientific word built deliberately from Greek roots rather than inherited through everyday speech. It combines 'en', meaning 'in' or 'within', with 'zume', the Greek word for leaven or yeast, the agent that makes bread dough rise and ferment. The German physiologist Wilhelm Kuhne coined it in 1878 to name the substances that act 'in yeast', producing fermentation, and the term passed quickly into English scientific usage. The yeast connection is no accident: early researchers were fascinated by how a tiny living agent could transform sugar, and they borrowed the same imagery for the catalytic proteins of living cells. The unusual 'zy' spelling, rare in English, is the direct fingerprint of that Greek 'zume', and remembering 'in the leaven' helps fix the otherwise tricky middle of the word.

How the word is built

• en- (in, from Greek 'en')
• zyme (leaven or yeast, from Greek 'zume')