Epoxy

How to spell epoxy

5 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce epoxy

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does epoxy mean?

1. nounA strong synthetic resin or adhesive, usually mixed from two parts that harden together.
2. verbTo bond, fix, or seal something using epoxy resin.

Epoxy in a sentence

• noun

  A thin layer of epoxy held the broken mug together overnight.

• verb

  He plans to epoxy the loose tile back into place this weekend.

• noun

  The workshop floor was sealed with a clear coat of epoxy.

• verb

  You can epoxy the metal bracket directly onto the wooden frame.

Where does epoxy come from?

Language of origin: Greek

Epoxy is a twentieth-century coinage from chemistry, not an ancient inheritance. It was built from the Greek prefix epi-, meaning 'upon' or 'over', clipped here to ep- before a vowel, joined to 'oxy', the combining form taken from 'oxygen'. Chemists used 'epoxide' from the early 1900s to describe a particular ring structure in which a single oxygen atom bridges two carbon atoms, the oxygen sitting 'over' the carbon bond. When tough adhesives and resins made from these compounds reached the market in the mid-1900s, the shortened name 'epoxy' stuck for the everyday glue. The spelling trap is the lone 'p' followed by a hard 'x' sound: writers are tempted to double the 'p' or to spell the 'oxy' part as 'oxi', but the word keeps the chemical 'oxy' from oxygen.

How the word is built

• ep- (from Greek epi-: upon, over)
• oxy (from oxygen)
• -y (noun suffix)